Israel Secretly Cultivates Ahmadinejad as Intelligence Asset for Post-Regime Iran

Israel conducted a covert operation over several years to cultivate former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a strategic intelligence asset. The plan aimed to position him as a future leader of Iran following the anticipated fall of the current regime of the ayatollahs. This unprecedented operation, revealed in a New York Times investigation, involved secret meetings and financial support for Ahmadinejad during his travels outside Iran.

A key moment in the operation occurred in 2024 when Ahmadinejad was invited to an academic conference in Budapest, officially on climate change. However, the event served as a cover for clandestine meetings between Ahmadinejad and Israeli intelligence operatives. The operation was so sensitive that Mossad chief David Barnea personally traveled to Budapest to meet with Ahmadinejad. Following their meeting, Mossad informed the CIA that a direct and stable connection had been established with the former Iranian president.

Despite Ahmadinejad's history of extreme rhetoric, including calls for Israel's destruction and Holocaust denial, Israel secretly funded part of his travel and lodging expenses and met with him multiple times abroad. After an Israeli targeted strike near Ahmadinejad's residence in Tehran, a secret extraction plan was activated. Mossad successfully relocated Ahmadinejad to a safe house within Iran to protect him as part of a broader contingency plan to topple the current regime and install him as the new leader.

This revelation highlights a complex and paradoxical relationship between Israel and Ahmadinejad, underscoring Israel's long-term strategic efforts to influence Iran's future leadership.