Iran plotted to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, U.S. and Israeli officials say
Iran planned to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, but the plan was foiled earlier this year, according to two U.S. officials and an Israeli official.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps launched an assassination plot against Ambassador Einat Kranz-Neiger in late 2024 and remained active until the first half of this year, the two U.S. officials said.
“The plot has been contained and does not pose a current threat,” said one of the U.S. officials, who shared information about the plot on condition of anonymity. “This is just the latest in a long history of deadly targeting by Iran against diplomats, journalists, dissidents and anyone who disagrees with them, something that should deeply concern every country where there is an Iranian presence.”
U.S. officials have not provided further details on the precise nature of the plot or how it was exposed and foiled.
An Israeli official expressed gratitude to Mexico for helping foil the plot.
“We thank Mexico’s security and law enforcement agencies for thwarting an Iranian-led terrorist network that sought to attack the Israeli ambassador to Mexico,” the Israeli official said. “The Israeli security and intelligence community will continue to work tirelessly, in full cooperation with security and intelligence agencies around the world, to thwart terrorist threats from Iran and its proxies against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world. »
Iran’s U.N. mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Washington also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. and Western officials have accused Iran of targeting critics abroad with violent attacks, often using local criminal networks as proxies.
Last month, a federal judge in New York sentenced two alleged Russian mafia members to 25 years each for plotting to kill Iranian expatriate and Tehran critic Masih Alinejad on orders from the Iranian regime.
In October 2024, British officials said the UK had responded to 20 Iranian-backed plots since the start of 2022, with these cases posing potentially lethal threats.
Tensions between the two nations have only intensified since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza. Iran has been one of Hamas’ main donors for decades.
Israel and Iran clashed in a 12-day air war in June, with U.S. military aircraft taking part in strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
