Mexico helps prevents Iranian plot to assassinate Israeli envoy

A coordinated effort between Mexican, American, and Israeli authorities thwarted an Iranian-directed plot to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, exposing a transnational operation that stretched from Caracas to Tehran. Officials announced on Friday that the planned killing of Ambassador Einat Kranz-Neiger was prevented with assistance from both Israeli and U.S. intelligence services.

According to an American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, Iran’s elite Quds Force initiated the operation in late 2024 before it was ultimately disrupted in 2025. The plot was reportedly advanced through operatives recruited by the Iranian embassy in Venezuela, underscoring Tehran’s close ties with Venezuela’s far-left president, Nicolás Maduro.

“The plot was contained and does not pose a current threat,” the US official stated. “This is just the latest in a long history of Iran’s global lethal targeting of diplomats, journalists, dissidents and anyone who disagrees with them, something that should deeply worry every country where there is an Iranian presence.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oren Marmorstein expressed gratitude for “the security and law enforcement services in Mexico for thwarting a terrorist network directed by Iran that sought to attack Israel’s ambassador in Mexico.”

“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 worldwide,” Marmorstein vowed.

The Iranian regime denied having any intention to murder the Israeli ambassador.

“It is a media invention, a great big lie, whose objective is to damage the friendly and historic relations between both countries (Mexico and Iran), which we categorically reject,” Tehran’s embassy in Mexico posted on 𝕏.

Mexico’s foreign relations and security ministries jointly stated that “they have no report with respect to a supposed attempt against the ambassador of Israel in Mexico.”

Mexico’s Foreign Ministry reiterated its “willingness to maintain fluid communication with all accredited diplomatic representations in our country,” while Mexican security said it “reaffirms its respectful and coordinated collaboration, always within the framework of national sovereignty, with all security agencies that request it.”

Speaking to the media about the Iranian assassination plot against her life, Ambassador Kranz-Neiger said she was “unaware of the reasons” that the Mexican ministries denied knowledge about the Tehran-led plot.

“Those who acted to neutralize this threat were the Mexican security and intelligence authorities,” the Israeli envoy said in an interview with Radio Formula.

An unnamed U.S. security official revealed that the Iranian IRGC officer Hasan Izadi (also known as Masood Rahnema) initiated the plot to assassinate the Israeli ambassador in Mexico.

Iran has a long record of orchestrating attacks against Israelis, Jews, Westerners, and Iranian dissidents around the world.

In August, 14 Western governments, including the United States, issued a joint condemnation of Iran’s attempts to carry out assassinations and kidnappings, especially across Europe and North America.

“We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,” the Western governments stated.

In October 2024, a European report revealed that the Iranian regime employed criminal networks to carry out attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets across the European continent.