President Donald Trump drew a bright red line Monday after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani threatened to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested on American soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cBenjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,\u201d Trump declared in a Truth Social<\/a> post.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The president defended Netanyahu as a wartime leader confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran, which Trump accused of killing 52,000 protesters and spending decades targeting American troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cThe only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION,\u201d Trump added, arguing that previous presidents should have confronted the regime years ago.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s declaration came after Mamdani revived one of his most controversial campaign promises during an interview<\/a> with The New York Times\u2019 Lulu Garcia-Navarro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cI believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cHe\u2019s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The democratic socialist mayor said his administration is now examining whether he could use the New York Police Department to detain Netanyahu when the Israeli leader is expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s an active conversation with our legal department in seeing what the prospects are we have here in our municipality,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He insisted he would follow existing city law and would not attempt to write new rules specifically targeting Netanyahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Mamdani\u2019s arrest talk faces a mountain of legal obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court and does not recognize the court\u2019s authority over Americans or Israelis. Foreign affairs are also controlled by the federal government, while diplomatic protections and head-of-state immunity could shield Netanyahu during a U.N. visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz dismissed Mamdani\u2019s proposal as \u201cpure political theater.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,\u201d Waltz wrote<\/a> on X, adding that the U.N. Headquarters Agreement grants protections to visiting foreign leaders and that \u201cfederal authority trumps any local mayor\u2019s wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n