Israel's Secret Effort to Back Ahmadinejad as Iran's Post-Regime Leader Fails

Israel conducted a covert operation over several years aiming to cultivate former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset and potential leader of Iran after a regime change. According to a detailed New York Times report published on July 13, 2026, the operation involved secret meetings, funding for travel and accommodation, and a plan to extract Ahmadinejad from Tehran during the ongoing conflict with Iran. Ultimately, the plan failed.

Four senior Iranian officials told the New York Times that Ahmadinejad was arrested and placed under house arrest by the intelligence branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after his ties to Israel were exposed. He was last seen publicly at the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, appearing unwell and surrounded by security.

The relationship reportedly began in 2024 when Hungary’s Ludovika University invited Ahmadinejad to a climate change conference, which served as a cover for meetings with Israeli intelligence. Former Mossad chief David Barnea personally met Ahmadinejad in Budapest that year and informed the CIA of the contact. Israeli intelligence secretly financed Ahmadinejad’s travels and accommodations, meeting him multiple times outside Iran.

Ahmadinejad, who was known for his hardline rhetoric during his presidency from 2005 to 2013, softened his stance after leaving office, criticizing Iran’s security forces and corruption, adopting a more moderate image, and even speaking English publicly. Despite this, many Iranians viewed his shift as a bid to regain political power. Close associates said his motivation was not financial but a desire to return to leadership, even aspiring to rule Iran with foreign support.

Israeli intelligence monitored the growing rift between Ahmadinejad and Iran’s current leadership, especially after he was barred from running for president again. Suspicion also grew within the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence due to his public letters to Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In early 2026, amid the Israel-Iran war, Israel attempted to extract Ahmadinejad from Tehran following an Israeli strike, but he later left his safe house under unclear circumstances. He has since been held under house arrest by the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence service.

This unprecedented Israeli effort to back a former adversary as a post-regime leader highlights the complex covert dynamics amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.