In a surprisingly chummy press conference, President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani spoke about their “productive” Oval Office meeting on Friday, yet mostly dodged questions on Israel and antisemitism.

“We had a great meeting. One thing in common, we want this city of ours that we love to do very well, and I wanted to congratulate the mayor. He really ran an incredible race against a lot of smart people,” said Trump. “We talked about getting housing built and food prices. The better he does, the happier I am.”

Mamdani said he “appreciated” the opportunity to meet with Trump and that he looks forward to working “together to deliver that affordability.”

Mamdani’s rise to mayor has drawn concern from pro-Israel and Jewish groups over his past rhetoric regarding Israel, including his inability to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which calls for violence against Jews. Mamdani has also threatened to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York 

On Thursday Mamdani distanced himself from protestors who gathered outside Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, however he suggested that the event, which provided information on immigrating to Israel, violated international law.

In response to a question directed at Mamdani regarding Thursday’s incident, Trump allowed the mayor-elect to evade the question, ultimately taking the conversation in a different direction. It was only at the conclusion of the press conference that Mamdani returned to the subject, reiterating similar comments he has made in the past, saying that he will “protect Jewish New Yorkers.” 

During the campaign, Trump said that any Jewish person who votes for Mamdani is a “self-professed Jew hater” and a “stupid person.” However, the president let much of his apparent differences with the mayor-elect on Israel slide. 

When asked whether he would stop Mamdani from arresting Netanyahu, Trump simply replied that the two “didn’t discuss” it, refraining from any confrontation on the issue. 

Mamdani said he “desperately” wants peace in the Middle East, however, he also noted that he wanted an end to taxpayer’ dollars “funding violations of human rights,” seeming at times to gesture toward Israel without calling out the Jewish state by name. 

“I’ve spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide, and I’ve spoken about our government funding it,” said Mamdani. “We have to follow through on international human rights, and still today those are being violated.”

Trump did not interject, instead remaining cordial with Mamdani and proceeding to call him “a rational person” that “wants to see New York be great again.”

In the run-up to the meeting, the president and Mamdani had traded barbs with each other. Mamdani has vowed to “Trump-proof” New York City, sharply criticizing the president’s immigration and economic policies. Meanwhile, Trump has called Mamdani “my little communist mayor” and has threatened to withhold federal funds. 

When asked about whether he will provide Mamdani with federal funding, Trump said he plans to “help him,” adding that he believes the mayor-elect “has a chance to do a great job.” 

“Some of his ideas, really, are the same ideas that I have,” said Trump. “We agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I want him to do a great job.”

High-level direct negotiations between the U.S. and Iran will begin on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced in an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Netanyahu, who has historically expressed skepticism about the possibility of reaching an effective nuclear deal with Iran, raised the topic, saying that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If it can be done diplomatically as it was in Libya, that would be a good thing. But if it can’t, we have to ensure it has no nuclear weapons.” 

In response, the president said: “We are having direct talks with Iran. It’ll go on Saturday.”

Iran, however, has yet to publicly agree to enter direct talks with the U.S.

”I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” Trump added, a reference to a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “And the obvious is not something I want to be involved with or frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it.” 

Trump said Iran’s nuclear program is “getting to be very dangerous territory.” 

Asked the level of the delegation to the nuclear talks, Trump said “high level, very high level … almost the highest level.” He would not say where the talks will take place.

The president’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said he had no comment when asked by Jewish Insider on Monday if he would be involved in the negotiations on Saturday.

Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff will lead the talks, characterized by Araghchi as “indirect,” in Oman. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi will reportedly serve as the mediator.

The president acknowledged that it’s “a possibility” that Iran is trying to buy time and does not plan to seriously negotiate.

“I think if the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran is going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it. Great danger,” he said. “Because they can’t have a nuclear weapon. You know, it’s not a complicated formula. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, that’s all there is.”

However, Trump stopped short of threatening to bomb Iran, as he did last week.

The president said that if he makes a deal with Iran, “it’ll be different and maybe a lot stronger” than the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 

Deputy Special Envoy Morgan Ortagus said in an interview with Al Arabiya that “what we’re not going to do is get into the Biden trap where you do indirect talks that last for years and the Iranians just string us along. Not happening in this administration.”

“If we’re going to have talks, they need to be quick, they need to be serious about dismantling their nuclear weapons program,” she said. “President Trump wants a peaceful future for both countries, but we’re not going to be extorted like the Biden administration was.” 

Ortagus noted that the U.N. Security Council Resolution underpinning the JCPOA, which would allow parties to the deal to snap back all pre-deal sanctions on Iran, expires in October, and that there have long been grounds to bring back those sanctions, because Iran has been violating the terms of the agreement since 2021.

This story was updated at 4 a.m. ET