Trump Once Considered Former President Ahmadinejad as Iran's Leader

US President Donald Trump’s administration was reportedly preparing to install former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the country’s leader. In fact, Israel conducted an attack on his house in Tehran, Iran’s capital, intended to free him from house arrest. The New York Times (NYT) reported this, citing US officials briefed on the operation. According to Al Arabiya on Wednesday, 20 May 2026, the attack formed part of a broader Israeli plan known to the United States, aimed at weakening Iran’s leadership and creating conditions for regime change. US officials said Israel and the United States had considered Ahmadinejad, despite his hardline record as anti-Israel and anti-American, as a potential figure who could lead Iran after the leadership collapsed. However, the plan by the US and Israel failed. Ahmadinejad was injured on the first day of the Israeli attack, according to reports by leading US media. US officials told the NYT that the attack by the Israeli Air Force was designed to kill guards stationed around Ahmadinejad’s house and free him from detention. It was reported that the house itself did not suffer significant damage, but the security post near the entrance to the street was destroyed. Ahmadinejad, who led Iran from 2005 to 2013, has in recent years clashed with Iran’s leadership. He has accused senior officials of corruption and has repeatedly been barred from running for president. Iranian authorities have increasingly restricted his movements at his home in the Narmak district in eastern Tehran. Iranian media initially reported that Ahmadinejad had died in the Israeli attack on his home. His political party later denied the reports. While official Iranian media said he survived and that his guards had died.