A planned meeting between senior officials in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration and Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations was canceled after the U.S. State Department intervened, according to multiple officials.
The meeting, scheduled for July 7, would have included Ana María Archila, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, along with two additional senior officials from the office, according to reporting by City Journal.
The officials had been scheduled to meet with Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations.
The purpose of the meeting was not publicly disclosed.
According to City Journal, the planned meeting was revealed through screenshots of a calendar invitation. The report said sources familiar with the mayor’s international affairs office confirmed the invitation, while a State Department official acknowledged awareness of the planned meeting.
Federal officials were not notified beforehand, according to the report.
After learning of the planned engagement, the State Department contacted representatives of the mayor’s administration to discuss protocols governing interactions with foreign governments.
The meeting was canceled shortly afterward.
“This meeting did not and will not take place,” a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs said in a statement.
A State Department spokesperson praised the decision to cancel the meeting while criticizing the proposal.
“We appreciate the mayor understanding the value of diplomacy, and for his decision to cancel this meeting,” the spokesperson said.
“It is unconscionable that a New York City official would even consider meeting with the Iranian Ambassador to the U.N., a man who consistently works to undermine U.S. interests and whitewash his regime’s crimes against the United States, our allies, and Iran’s own citizens.”
Mayor Mamdani told reporters he was unaware the meeting had been scheduled until reporters asked about it.
“That meeting did not take place. It will not take place. And I did not know about it until there was a press inquiry regarding it,” Mamdani said during a press conference.
The mayor said Archila acknowledged scheduling the meeting was an “error” and that the administration is implementing new procedures for reviewing meeting requests involving foreign officials, per Trending Politics.
Mamdani also said the request to schedule the meeting originated from outside the Office for International Affairs.
The Mayor’s Office for International Affairs works with the diplomatic community in New York City, supports cultural and economic partnerships, and coordinates with foreign missions connected to the United Nations.
However, the office does not conduct U.S. foreign policy, which is handled exclusively by the federal government.
The canceled meeting came as tensions remain elevated between the U.S. and Iran following renewed military hostilities in the Persian Gulf and disputes over commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Iran and continues to enforce sanctions against the Iranian government.
Federal law assigns responsibility for foreign affairs and national security to the federal government, while state and local officials are generally expected to coordinate with the State Department when interacting with foreign diplomats, particularly during periods of heightened international tensions.
