Iran had planned to kill 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 began a plan to kill Ambassador Einat Kranz-Neiger in late 2024 and continued through the first half of this year, two U.S. officials said.
“The plot has been contained and does not pose a current threat,” said one of the US officials, who shared information about the plot on condition of anonymity. “This is just the latest in Iran's long history of global, deadly attacks on diplomats, journalists, dissidents and anyone else who disagrees with them, which should deeply concern every country where there is an Iranian presence.”
U.S. officials did not provide further details about the exact nature of the plot or how it was discovered and foiled.
An Israeli official thanked Mexico for its help in foiling the plot.
“We thank Mexico's security and law enforcement agencies for foiling an Iranian-run 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 prevent terrorist threats from Iran and its proxies against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world.”
Iran's mission to the United Nations 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 requests for comment.
US and Western officials blamed Iran targets critics abroad with brutal attacksoften using local criminal networks as proxies.
Last month, a federal judge in New York sentenced two alleged members of the Russian mafia to 25 years in prison each for plot to kill Iranian expatriate and Tehran critic Masih Alinejad, on orders from the Iranian regime.
In October 2024, British officials stated the United Kingdom has responded to 20 Iranian-backed plots since the start of 2022, with these cases posing potentially lethal threats.
Tensions between the two countries have only increased since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip. Iran has been a Hamas country for decades. main financial sponsors.
In June, Israel and Iran clashed in a 12-day air war, with US warplanes taking part in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
