‘Why Iran-Backed Houthis But Not US-Backed IDF’: Zohran Mamdani Hits Out At UK Broadcaster | World News

Last Updated:July 20, 2025, 09:33 IST

Zohran Mamdani hit out at the BBC for always referring to the Houthi group as being backed by Iran, but never referring to Israeli PM Netanyahu as a “war criminal”.

New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. (Reuters)

New York Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani hit out at the UK’s public broadcaster, BBC, for always referring to Houthi and Hamas groups as being backed by Iran, but never referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “indicted war criminal” or the Israeli military as being backed by the United States.

Mamdani said the BBC always provides context like “Iran-backed Houthis” and “Hamas-run hospital”, but fails to do the same while mentioning Netanyahu and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

“Why does the BBC always include context like ‘Iran-backed Houthis’ and ‘Hamas-run hospital’ but never ‘US-backed IDF’ or ‘indicted-war-criminal Benjamin Netanyahu’?” he said on X.

Mamdani is an outspoken critic of Israel, and has labelled its offensive in Gaza as a “genocide”. Mamdani had said he would arrest Netanyahu under international law if he visited New York City, if he was elected mayor, citing the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant.

However, Mamdani has stressed that Israel has the right to exist on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and called the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas a “horrific war crime”.

US President Donald Trump has called him a “communist lunatic” and vowed to stop him from “destroying New York.” Taking to his Truth Social platform, Trump said, “As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards.”

Mamdani, born in Uganda to South Asian parents, immigrated to the United States in 1998 at the age of seven and became a US citizen in 2018. Despite his lawful naturalisation and service as a New York State Assembly member, his citizenship has become a flashpoint in his escalating feud with Donald Trump over his liberal rhetoric and harsh criticism of Israel.

Aveek Banerjee

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More

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New York, United States of America (USA)

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