New Footage Shows Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Under House Arrest After Mossad Spy Operation Exposure

The Iranian news agency Mahr released new footage of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attending a memorial ceremony for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This footage surfaced one day after a New York Times investigation revealed a secret Mossad operation aimed at recruiting Ahmadinejad as a strategic asset. According to reports, Ahmadinejad is currently under house arrest and monitored by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence division following the exposure of his covert contacts with Israel.

The New York Times detailed that Israel sought to position Ahmadinejad as a potential future leader of Iran after the fall of the current regime. A key moment in the operation occurred in 2024 when Ahmadinejad was invited to an academic conference in Budapest, ostensibly about climate change, which served as a cover for secret meetings with Israeli intelligence agents. Former U.S. officials noted the operation's high sensitivity, with former Mossad chief Dedi Barnea personally traveling to Hungary to meet Ahmadinejad and establish a direct, stable connection.

The report also revealed that Israel covertly funded some of Ahmadinejad's travel and accommodations abroad, with multiple meetings held on foreign soil. The operation escalated on February 28, when the Israeli Air Force reportedly attacked Ahmadinejad's residence in Tehran, targeting the building housing his security detail and his armored vehicle. Following the strike, Mossad agents allegedly extracted him to a secret safe house inside Iran to shield him from IRGC surveillance and advance plans to install him as an alternative leader.

However, Ahmadinejad reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the extraction and began doubting the Israeli plan. He later left the safe house under unclear circumstances and remained out of public view for months. His brief public appearance at Khamenei's funeral was his first since the operation's exposure. Iranian officials stated that after Tehran uncovered parts of his Israeli contacts, Ahmadinejad was placed under IRGC intelligence custody and remains under house arrest.

This revelation highlights a complex and paradoxical relationship involving covert Israeli efforts to influence Iran's political future through Ahmadinejad, now complicated by internal Iranian security measures and his own reservations about the plan.