Israel’s Mossad tried to recruit former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to install him as Iran’s new leader: Report
Following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the long-time Supreme Leader of Iran, on February 28, in the opening hours of the US-Israeli war on
Following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the long-time Supreme Leader of Iran, on February 28, in the opening hours of the US-Israeli war on Tehran, there is still uncertainty about who is in charge of the Islamic Republic. While Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was appointed as the new Supreme Leader of Iran, he has not been seen in public, and there is growing speculation that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is in control of the country amid the war. Israel tried to recruit Mahmoud Ahmadinejad But if Israel had had its way, Iran would now have been ruled by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of the Islamic Republic, a New York Times report has claimed. According to the report, Israel was involved in a multi-year effort to recruit and reinstall Ahmadinejad, who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013 as the country’s new leader.
Israel secretly paid money to Mr. Ahmadinejad for housing and travel, and Israeli operatives met him abroad on several occasions, the report, which cited US officials, said. 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 invite to Ahmadinejad was a cover to facilitate his meeting with then-Mossad chief David Barnea. US officials told The New York Times that Barnea met Ahmadinejad personally in the Hungarian capital in 2024 and soon after, Mossad notified the CIA that it had been in contact with the former Iranian President. Mossad ‘rescued’ Ahmadinejad on February 28 It added that the Israeli efforts culminated on February 28, with an operation to relocate Ahmadinejad, who had been living under strict surveillance in Tehran.
Following a strike on his compound, targeting the building of his bodyguards and his armored vehicle, Ahmadinejad was taken away from the scene in a black Peugeot car. It was reportedly driven by Mossad operatives, who took Ahmadinejad to a secret safe house in Iran. However, the Israeli plan to install him as Iran’s new leader fails as Ahmadinejad was “upset about the frantic rescue operation, and he appeared to be disillusioned about the Israeli plan to return him to power.” Ahmadinejad - from foe to ally? 69-year-old Ahmadinejad, who is an engineer by qualification, was known as a hardliner who opposed Israel and championed Iran’s nuclear programme during his time in office. Though he had been away from the power circles ever since leaving the office of the President in 2013, in 2024, Ahmadinejad made an unsuccessful attempt to make a return.
The BriefWire