President Donald Trump confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested under any circumstances while visiting the United States, despite New York City Mayor Sohraan Mamdani considering the possibility of acting on an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
President Donald Trump posted directly on Truth Social stating, "Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested in any form or case whatsoever while in the United States."
Trump’s statement came after New York City Mayor Sohraan Mamdani, who is openly critical of Israel's policies, revealed on The New York Times podcast "The Interview" that the city’s legal team is urgently reviewing the scope of the law to determine what actions are possible. Mamdani regards Netanyahu as a "war criminal" with an ICC arrest warrant and believes he should appear in The Hague.
Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to New York City this September to attend the United Nations General Assembly. Mayor Mamdani had previously campaigned on a promise to order New York police to arrest Netanyahu immediately if he enters the city.
Legal experts in the United States have agreed that the New York City mayor lacks the legal authority to arrest a foreign leader. U.S. law prohibits detention, harassment, or obstruction of senior foreign officials and heads of state, with violators facing up to three years in prison.
The U.S. 2002 American Service-Members’ Protection Act (ASPA) forbids local or municipal agencies from coordinating or assisting the ICC. Furthermore, neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of the ICC, placing both outside its jurisdiction and regarding the arrest warrant as "illegitimate."
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office responded to Mamdani via X, calling the ICC a "kangaroo court" and the arrest warrant nonsense. They added, "Mayor Mamdani should focus on diverting attention from his own city administration’s failures rather than attacking the leader of the only democratic Jewish state in the Middle East."
Additionally, President Trump praised Netanyahu in his post as a leader fighting the Islamic Republic of Iran, arguing that those who truly deserve arrest are the Iranian leaders who have led the region into a "cycle of death and destruction."
This latest stance underscores the strong ties between the Trump administration and Israel, as well as their opposition to the ICC’s authority. The U.S. has recently sanctioned and sought to "dismantle" the ICC’s operations, claiming the organization threatens U.S. sovereignty and that of its allies.