‘Big lie’: US and Israel accuse Iran of plot to kill Israeli envoy in Mexico; Tehran denies allegation

Iran rejects ‘big lie’ after US, Israel allege plot to assassinate envoy in Mexico

The United States and Israel on Friday accused Iran of plotting to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, Einat Kranz-Neiger, an allegation Tehran has dismissed as a “big lie.” Mexican authorities, however, said they had not received any official information regarding such a plot.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry thanked Mexican security agencies for allegedly preventing what it called a “terrorist network directed by Iran” from carrying out the attack. But Mexico’s Foreign Ministry clarified that it had “received no information” about any such incident.

In a joint statement, Mexico’s foreign and security ministries said they had “no report with respect to a supposed attempt against the ambassador of Israel in Mexico.” The statement reaffirmed Mexico’s willingness to maintain communication with diplomatic missions and “respectful and coordinated collaboration” with international security agencies within the framework of national sovereignty.

Iran’s embassy in Mexico denied the allegations, saying they were fabricated to damage the “friendly and historic relations” between Mexico and Iran. “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,” it posted on X.

A US official, speaking anonymously, said the plot was devised by the Quds Force, the elite wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, in late 2024 and continued into early 2025 before being contained. The same official claimed operatives were recruited through Iran’s embassy in Venezuela, which maintains close 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,” the official said.

Iran’s embassy in Mexico responded that “the security and reputation of Mexico are also the security and reputation of Iran,” adding, “We will never betray the trust that the government of Mexico has placed in us.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry reiterated that its intelligence community would “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.”

Israel has repeatedly accused Iran of orchestrating attacks on Jewish and Israeli interests abroad. In August, Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador after linking Tehran to two antisemitic arson attacks in Melbourne and Sydney.

Iran has also been accused of plotting to assassinate senior US officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Adviser John Bolton, following the 2020 killing of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani.