The revelation that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), specifically its elite Quds Force, plotted to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, Einat Kranz Neiger, has sent ripples through diplomatic circles and reignited concerns over Tehran’s international operations. On November 7, 2025, U.S. and Israeli officials publicly accused Iran of orchestrating the plan, which began in late 2024 and remained active through the first half of 2025, before being disrupted and contained. The story, as reported by multiple outlets including Reuters, CNN, and The Guardian, underscores the enduring volatility of Middle Eastern geopolitics and the far-reaching impact of its rivalries.
According to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, the plot was “contained and does not pose a current threat.” The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the scheme as emblematic of a broader pattern: “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.” No further details were provided about how the plot was uncovered or neutralized, but the official’s remarks echoed a growing international unease about Tehran’s activities abroad.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry was quick to extend gratitude to Mexican authorities for their role in thwarting the alleged attack. “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,” the ministry said in a statement, as reported by Reuters and CNN. The ministry added that Israeli security and intelligence services 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.”
Einat Kranz Neiger, who has served as Israel’s ambassador to Mexico since August 2023, was the intended target of the foiled plot. The details surrounding the plan remain murky. U.S. and Israeli officials have not elaborated on the specific methods or operatives involved, although one U.S. official indicated that the Quds Force may have sought to recruit agents from Iran’s embassy in Venezuela. Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, is known for his tactical alliance with Tehran, a relationship that has raised eyebrows in Western capitals wary of Iran’s expanding influence in Latin America.
Iran, for its part, has categorically denied the accusations. The Iranian embassy in Mexico took to X (formerly Twitter) to dismiss the plot as a “media invention, a great big lie,” insisting that the allegations were designed to sour Iran’s relations with Mexico. “The security and reputation of Mexico are also the security and reputation of Iran,” the embassy posted. “We will never betray the trust that the government of Mexico has placed in us.” The Iranian mission to the United Nations also declined to comment, and Mexico’s government stated it had “no information regarding an alleged attack against the Israeli ambassador to Mexico.”
This episode is just the latest in a series of confrontations and covert operations between Iran and Israel, two countries locked in a bitter struggle for regional influence. The timing of the alleged plot is notable: it followed an Israeli airstrike on April 1, 2024, targeting the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, Syria. That attack killed several senior IRGC officers and prompted vows of revenge from Tehran, which retaliated with missile and drone strikes against Israel. In June 2025, the conflict escalated further when Israel, joined by U.S. warplanes, launched a 12-day bombing campaign against Iranian nuclear sites, reportedly killing more than 1,000 people. These tit-for-tat exchanges have heightened tensions not only between the two nations but also across the broader region.
Iran’s track record of targeting opponents abroad is well documented. Western intelligence agencies, including those in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Australia, have repeatedly warned about Tehran’s use of local criminal proxies to carry out violent attacks. In October 2024, British officials revealed that they had disrupted 20 Iranian-backed plots since 2022, many of which posed potentially lethal threats. Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador in August 2025 after intelligence linked Tehran to antisemitic attacks, including arson at a synagogue and a kosher restaurant. The United States, too, has accused Iran of plotting assassinations against former senior officials, such as ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Adviser John Bolton, particularly in the wake of the 2020 killing of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani.
Latin America has not been immune to the spillover effects of Middle Eastern rivalries. The region’s most infamous incident remains the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people. Argentina and Israel have long maintained that the attack was orchestrated by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah at Iran’s behest. Mexico, home to a significant Jewish community and a country that has recognized Israel since its early days, now finds itself drawn into the crosshairs of this global conflict, even as its government emphasizes a policy of non-intervention in international affairs. While Mexico has backed investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza, it has maintained diplomatic ties with both Israel and Iran, walking a careful diplomatic tightrope.
As the conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on, with Iran as a primary financial backer of the Palestinian militant group, the risk of further international fallout remains high. The war in Gaza, which began after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has left much of the territory in ruins and triggered Israeli military operations across the region, including strikes in Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, and Yemen. The web of alliances and hostilities has only grown more tangled, as each side seeks to project power and retaliate for perceived slights and losses.
Despite the denials from Tehran and the lack of public evidence from Washington or Jerusalem, the allegations against Iran have reinforced existing fears among Western governments. Security officials continue to warn that Iran’s global reach—bolstered by embassies, proxies, and covert operatives—poses a persistent threat to diplomats, dissidents, and Jewish communities worldwide. As one U.S. official put it, “every country where there is an Iranian presence” should be vigilant.
For now, the immediate threat to Ambassador Kranz Neiger has passed, thanks to the combined efforts of Mexican, Israeli, and U.S. authorities. But the episode serves as a stark reminder that, in the shadowy world of international espionage and state-sponsored violence, the struggle between Iran and Israel shows no sign of abating.
With tensions running high and the potential for further escalation ever-present, the international community faces a daunting challenge: how to prevent the world’s most volatile rivalries from spilling over into new and unexpected arenas.
