Israeli Ambassador to Mexico Einat Kranz Neiger said she will not be intimidated after authorities foiled an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate her, describing the revelation as “deeply unsettling” but insisting she will continue her work as usual.
“It’s a difficult feeling, very disturbing to hear it for the first time — not just for me, but for all Israeli envoys here,” Kranz Neiger told Ynet in an interview. “We risk our lives and our families’ lives to represent our country. It’s part of being an Israeli ambassador — we are on the front line.”
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Israeli Ambassador to Mexico Einat Kranz Neiger
(Photo: REUTERS/Paola Garcia, Foreign Ministry)
The ambassador said she had only partial knowledge of the threat before it became public. “I didn’t know most of the details, and what I did know I can’t share,” she said. “It’s not easy. But I continued my routine and my regular activities, taking the necessary security measures. We have protection here, and I received all the support I needed to keep working.”
Kranz Neiger said the Revolutionary Guard’s global activity against Israelis, Jews and Iranian dissidents was no secret, describing the incident as part of a “continuing campaign of attempts to harm Israelis abroad.” She likened the foiled attempt to earlier attacks on the Israeli embassy and the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires in the 1990s.
“They don’t spare any effort,” she said. “Apparently, they thought they had an opportunity they could carry out.”
The Iranian Embassy in Mexico denied the allegations, calling them a “great big lie, whose objective is to damage the friendly and historical relations between both countries (Mexico and Iran).” The embassy said the two countries share "identical interests” and pledged that “the security and reputation of Mexico are also the security and reputation of Iran.”
Earlier, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that Iranian agents had planned the attack, thanking Mexican authorities for “thwarting a terrorist network directed by Iran to harm Israel’s ambassador.” According to Israeli and U.S. officials cited by Reuters, the cell operated out of Iran’s embassy in Venezuela, and the plot was expected to unfold in the first half of 2025.
A U.S. official told Reuters the thwarted attempt fits a long pattern of Iranian activity. “The plot was contained and does not pose a current threat,” the official said. “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.”
Anti-Israel protests are common in Mexico City, often taking place outside the low-rise Israeli embassy compound. At least three demonstrations in the past year have turned violent, with protesters attempting to storm the building. During the war with Iran in June, embassy staff were instructed to remain at home and avoid going outside due to security concerns.
In a book published this year by the Foreign Ministry titled Diplomats at War, Kranz Neiger recounted one violent protest in which demonstrators “dressed in black, wearing masks, threw Molotov cocktails at the embassy.” Though the building was closed, Mexican police officers sent to reinforce security were injured — about 20 were hospitalized with serious burns. “It creates a strong sense of insecurity,” she wrote.
The U.S. and several Western nations have repeatedly warned that Iran and its proxies are stepping up operations against foreign targets. In July, the UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee reported a “significant increase” in Iranian threats on British soil, citing 15 attempted murders and kidnappings of local or foreign citizens since 2022.
Kranz Neiger, undeterred, said she will continue to represent Israel. “This won’t stop me,” she said. “We have a job to do — and we’ll keep doing it.”