The Mexican authorities thwarted an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Israeli Ambassador to Mexico Einat Kranz-Neiger earlier this year.
Unit 11000 of Iran’s Quds Force initiated the plot at the end of last year, and the plot was active earlier this year, but was thwarted over the summer, according to Axios.
“The plot was contained and does not pose a current threat,” a U.S. official told the outlet.
“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,” a spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Washington Examiner.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
Iran’s U.N. mission in New York did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C.
The United States and Western countries have long accused Iran of trying to carry out assassination attempts and acts of sabotage abroad.
“This is just the latest in a long history of assassination attempts by Iran around the world targeting diplomats, journalists, dissidents, and anyone who disagrees with them — something that should deeply concern every country where there is an Iranian presence,” the U.S. official told the outlet.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in August that Iran was linked to two arson attacks last year, one on a cafe and another on a synagogue. Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and others were expelled from the country and denied the allegations.
The IRGC has also pursued revenge for the U.S. assassination of IRGC leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, looking to target U.S. officials who were in office at the time, including President Donald Trump.
A Pakistani man, Asif Raza Merchant, 46, was accused of trying to arrange a murder-for-hire scheme targeting Trump. Merchant, who spent time in Iran before traveling to the U.S., was arrested last year in connection with the plot.
“For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” former Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
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The Justice Department unsealed charges in August 2022, accusing Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national and IRGC member, of attempting to arrange the murder of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton.
Israel and Iran engaged in their first direct war in June. The U.S. briefly entered the 12-day conflict, bombing three of Iran’s nuclear facilities.