Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Reportedly in IRGC Custody Over Alleged Mossad Links

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reportedly been placed under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The drastic measure was taken after intelligence authorities in Tehran uncovered an alleged secret deal between Ahmadinejad and Israel. Reports cited by The New York Times claim that for years, Israel ran a covert operation to cultivate Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset, with the goal of installing him as the country’s new leader if the current regime were toppled. American and Iranian sources stated that Israel secretly sent funds to cover Ahmadinejad’s living and travel expenses, while Mossad agents met him abroad on several occasions. The news is shocking given Ahmadinejad’s track record during his presidency from 2005 to 2013, when he was known as a hardliner who accelerated Tehran’s nuclear programme, repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction, and denied the Holocaust. In recent years, however, he has shown a drastic change in both his physical appearance and his political rhetoric, becoming more moderate and critical of Iran’s Supreme Leader. Abdolreza Davari, a former senior adviser to Ahmadinejad, suggested his motivation was not money but power, as he was reportedly frustrated after being disqualified from running for president three times and concluded he could not return to power under the current system. The covert operation reportedly culminated in February amid US-Israeli tensions with Iran, when an Israeli airstrike hit Ahmadinejad’s residential compound, apparently targeting his guard building and armoured vehicles as part of a forced relocation effort. Four senior Iranian officials claimed a black Peugeot driven by a Mossad agent picked up Ahmadinejad from the strike site and took him to a secret safe house inside Iran. However, Ahmadinejad was reportedly dissatisfied with the chaotic rescue operation and began to doubt Mossad’s plan to return him to power. An IRGC investigation revealed that his interactions with Israeli intelligence involved a series of foreign trips, including a 2024 visit to Ludovika University in Budapest, Hungary, under the guise of attending a climate change conference, where he allegedly met with then-Mossad chief David Barnea. The university rector, Professor Gergely Deli, later admitted the invitation was a cover for secret talks with Israeli agents. Similar contacts allegedly occurred during a visit to Guatemala in 2023. After disappearing from public view since February, Ahmadinejad briefly appeared on Monday at the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wearing a surgical mask and heavily guarded by security personnel. Four senior Iranian officials confirmed that the IRGC’s intelligence wing has taken over his detention. Tel Aviv has yet to issue an official comment on the mission to install Ahmadinejad as a new leader, which is said to be part of a broader effort to collapse the government in Tehran.