Mamdani is to receive a 'peacemaker award' alongside a controversial Iranian lobbying group accused of coordinating with Tehran

From the Newshound archive · first published 3 October 2026.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is due to be honoured next week by a New York state non-profit alongside the National Iranian American Council, a group that Republican senators have urged the Justice Department to investigate over alleged coordination with the Iranian government. City Hall confirmed Mamdani will skip the October 5 ceremony but offered no explanation. The award has intensified scrutiny of Mamdani's ties to anti-Israel causes and his wife Rama Duwaji's attendance at a luxury Islamic retreat that called for the "elimination" of Israel.

NIAC filed a lawsuit last week challenging Trump's Iran war policy, contending that the president is conducting an "unconstitutional war without congressional authorisation."

Duwaji attended a retreat costing up to $5,260 per person at a Portuguese castle run by a group that posted "from the river to the sea" and called for Palestine to be "cleansed of its oppressors."