Israel’s Mossad tried to recruit former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to install him as Iran’s new leader: Report | Today’s news
After the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s longtime supreme leader, on February 28 in the opening hours of the US-Israeli war against Tehran, there is still uncertainty over who is in command of the Islamic republic. While Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been named Iran’s new supreme leader, he has not been seen in public and speculation is rife that the country is being controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during the war.
Israel tried to recruit Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
But if Israel had its way, Iran would now be ruled by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of the Islamic Republic, according to a New York Times report. According to the report, Israel was involved in a multi-year effort to recruit and reinstall Ahmadinejad, who served as Iran’s sixth president from 2005 to 2013, as the country’s new leader.
Read also | Is Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei leaving? Iran’s IRGC ‘Takes Effective Control’: Report
Israel secretly paid Mr. Ahmadinejad money for accommodation and travel, and Israeli agents met with him abroad several times, the report said, citing US officials.
This includes his two visits to the Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest, Hungary in 2024 and 2025 for a climate change conference. But according to the NYT, the invitation to Ahmadinejad was a cover to facilitate his meeting with then Mossad chief David Barnea.
U.S. officials told The New York Times that Barnea met Ahmadinejad in person in the Hungarian capital in 2024, and soon after, the Mossad notified the CIA that he had been in contact with the former Iranian president.
Mossad “rescued” Ahmadinejad on February 28
It added that Israeli efforts culminated on February 28 in an operation to relocate Ahmadinejad, who had been living under strict surveillance in Tehran. Ahmadinejad was driven from the scene in a black Peugeot after the strike on his compound, targeting the building of his bodyguards and his armored vehicle.
It was allegedly driven by Mossad agents who took Ahmadinejad to a secret safe house in Iran. However, Israel’s plan to install him as Iran’s new leader failed because Ahmadinejad was “upset by the frantic rescue operation and seemed disillusioned with Israel’s plan to return him to power”.
Ahmadinejad – from enemy to ally?
Ahmadinejad, 69, an engineer by training, was known as a hard-liner who opposed Israel and pushed for Iran’s nuclear program during his time in office. Although Ahmadinejad has been away from power circles since leaving the presidency in 2013, he made an unsuccessful comeback attempt in 2024.
Read also | Stuxnet, the cyberattack that nearly destroyed Iran’s nuclear program
After the death of then-president Ebrahim Raisi in May 2024, he sought to challenge the June presidential election. But the Guardian Council, a group of clerics and lawyers overseen by then-supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, disqualified him and abruptly ended his comeback attempt.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies the accusation
Ahmadinejad’s office dismissed the NTY report, calling it “Hollywood-style claims”, undeserving of denial, and describing the newspaper as “known for publishing fake news and fabricating lies”.
She also accused the newspaper of being willing to publish fabricated articles and reports in exchange for payment.
A statement carried by Iranian media also said that Ahmadinejad remains active and continues his daily work.
