Iran Denies US and Israeli Claims of Plot to Assassinate Israeli Ambassador in Mexico

Israel stated Mexico intervened to prevent an assassination attempt on ambassador Einat Kranz-Neiger.

United States:

The United States and Israel accused Iran Friday of attempting to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to Mexico, while Tehran dismissed the allegation as a "big lie" and Mexican officials claimed no awareness of such a plot.

This alleged assassination attempt emerges amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, following direct military exchanges between the two nations.

Israel's foreign ministry expressed gratitude to Mexican security forces, stating: "We thank 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."

However, Mexico's foreign ministry later declared it had "received no information" regarding the alleged incident.

Without specifically naming the United States or Israel, Mexico's Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection indicated openness to "respectful and coordinated cooperation, always within the framework of national sovereignty, with all security agencies that request it."

Iran's embassy in Mexico categorically rejected the claims, calling the alleged plot "a great big lie" and suggesting the accusations aimed "to damage the friendly and historic relations between both countries."

Mexico has traditionally maintained a non-interventionist approach to international conflicts, adopting a more moderate stance on the Gaza war compared to other leftist Latin American governments.

While Mexico has supported investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes, it has maintained decades-long diplomatic relations with Israel that have been generally cordial.

A U.S. official claimed Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force initiated the plot in late 2024, with disruption occurring this year. The operation allegedly involved recruiting operatives from Iran's embassy in Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro maintains strategic ties with Tehran.

"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," stated the unnamed U.S. official, though specific evidence wasn't provided.

The alleged assassination attempt would have followed Israel's April 2024 strike on Iran's embassy compound in Damascus, which killed several Revolutionary Guards officers and prompted Iranian retaliatory missile strikes against Israel.

The following year witnessed Israel conducting extensive bombing operations in Iran, resulting in over 1,000 casualties, while the United States targeted Iran's nuclear facilities.

Iran has been a significant supporter of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group responsible for the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered Israel's military campaign across Gaza and expanded operations throughout the region.

Israeli intelligence has repeatedly accused the Quds Force of orchestrating plots against Israeli and Jewish targets internationally.

Recently, Australia expelled Iran's ambassador over alleged Iranian involvement in attacks targeting a Melbourne synagogue and a Sydney kosher restaurant.

Latin America has previously experienced violence linked to Middle Eastern conflicts, most notably the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people—an attack Argentina and Israel attribute to Hezbollah acting at Iran's behest.

Despite the Iranian government's hostility toward Israel following the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran continues to host a historic Jewish community.