NYT Report: Israel's Covert Bid to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran's Leader
A startling report from The New York Times has revealed a years-long Israeli effort to recruit and install former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a new leader in Tehran. The covert campaign aimed to topple the current regime through foreign intervention and high-level intelligence cooperation.
According to the report, the operation reached its peak on the first day of the US-Israel attack on Iran in February. Special forces were reportedly ordered to attack Ahmadinejad’s guards to free him from house arrest.
A vehicle then spirited the former president to a safe house. However, Ahmadinejad reportedly left the location after becoming disillusioned with Israel’s detailed plan to install him in power.
The report detailed that contact between Israel and Ahmadinejad involved direct meetings with Mossad chief David Barnea. These meetings took place on the sidelines of an academic conference on climate change in Budapest, Hungary, in 2024.
The rector of the Ludovika University of Public Service, Gergely Deli, was reportedly asked by senior Hungarian officials to invite Ahmadinejad. The invitation was merely a cover to allow the former president, known for his anti-Holocaust rhetoric, to meet Mossad agents undetected by Iranian intelligence.
Beyond Hungary, initial contact was reportedly made in 2023 when Ahmadinejad travelled to Guatemala. In June 2025, he met Israeli agents again in Budapest, just days before Israel launched its 12-day air campaign against the Iranian regime.
Ahmadinejad, who served as president from 2005 to 2013, was once known as a radical conservative figure who called for the destruction of Israel. However, after being barred from standing in several recent elections, he transformed into a vocal critic of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
A close associate told The Times that Ahmadinejad eventually realised he could not return to power under the current system. He began to view foreign intervention as the only path back to leadership. In his new vision, Ahmadinejad cast himself as a reformer and promised that Iran would recognise Israel’s sovereignty if he took power.
Although the grand plan to topple the Iranian regime—which also involved Kurdish insurgency efforts—was declared a failure, Ahmadinejad’s fate remains a mystery. The Iranian regime retains full control over the country.
Ahmadinejad was last seen briefly at the funeral of Ali Khamenei under heavy guard, wearing a thick coat and a mask. He is believed to be currently in the custody of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on suspicion of links to Israeli intelligence. (The Times of Israel/I-2)