13.07.2026 20:20
The US press claimed that Israel attempted to bring Iran's former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power as the country's new leader through a secret operation, but failed. It was alleged that the covert plan, ranging from front meetings in Budapest to evacuation operations during US-Israeli attacks, collapsed when Ahmadinejad became uncomfortable and frustrated with the process, and that the former President is currently under house arrest by the Revolutionary Guards.
The US-based New York Times newspaper claimed that Israel contacted former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the leadership of Iran.
The report alleged that Israel's foreign intelligence service, Mossad, attempted to recruit Ahmadinejad to its side and implemented a secret plan to install him as Iran's leader. Citing US and Iranian officials with knowledge of the operation, the report claimed that Mossad held secret meetings, financed Ahmadinejad's travel and accommodation expenses, and that in the early days of the US-Israeli war against Iran, Ahmadinejad was taken out of Tehran, the capital of Iran, to a safe house under Israeli control.
FIRST CONTACT IN BUDAPEST
The report stated that the first stage of the secret plan to recruit Ahmadinejad, who pursued a hardline anti-Israel policy during his tenure as Iran's President between 2005-2013 but later adopted a more moderate stance, began in Hungary. It was reported that then-Mossad Chief David Barnea personally traveled to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, in 2024 to meet with Ahmadinejad. The report added that Mossad contacted Ahmadinejad in Budapest, where he was invited under the pretext of a climate conference, and informed the CIA about it.
CONFERENCE USED AS A SHIELD
The report noted that Gergely Deli, Rector of Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest, received an unusual request from a senior Hungarian government official in early 2024. Deli was asked to organize a conference on climate change and invite Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a guest. The report highlighted that the conference was planned to be used as a cover for secret meetings between Ahmadinejad and Mossad officials. It pointed out that Ahmadinejad visited Budapest in 2024 and then made another visit to Budapest in 2025, a few days before the war began in Iran. The report stated that Ahmadinejad's security guards reported that he twice left them during this visit, disappearing for lengthy meetings, and that Ahmadinejad told his guards he was meeting with university faculty.
"ISRAEL TOOK AHMADINEJAD FROM THE REGION AFTER AN ATTACK TARGETING HIS NEIGHBORHOOD"
The report claimed that the operation entered its most critical phase in late February of this year, during the early days of the US-Israeli war against Iran. According to US and Iranian officials, Israel tried to implement its plan to topple the regime by extracting Ahmadinejad from Tehran, where he lived under tight surveillance. The report noted that an Israeli airstrike on February 28 targeted the area where Ahmadinejad was located. It alleged that after the attack, a black car arrived at the scene, picked up Ahmadinejad, and took him to a safe house controlled by Mossad agents.
"THE PLAN FAILED WHEN AHMADINEJAD WAS DISAPPOINTED"
The report stated that the plan failed because Ahmadinejad was disturbed by the chaotic evacuation operation and was deeply disappointed by Israel's plan to restore him to power. Ahmadinejad left the safe house under unclear circumstances and has since only been briefly seen at the funeral of Iran's slain religious leader, Ali Khamenei.
CLAIM: HE WAS PLACED UNDER HOUSE ARREST AFTER CONTACTS WITH ISRAEL WERE EXPOSED
The report also stated that a regime change plan involving arming Kurdish groups and infiltrating them into Iran also failed. According to four unnamed senior Iranian officials cited in the report, it is claimed that Ahmadinejad was placed under house arrest under the supervision of the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence unit after most of his contacts with Israel were exposed.
"HE BELIEVED HE COULD ONLY RETURN TO POWER WITH THE SUPPORT OF FOREIGN POWERS"
According to statements attributed to people in Ahmadinejad's inner circle, the former president believed he could only return to power with the support of foreign powers. One of his former close associates said Ahmadinejad did this not for money but to regain power. According to another former deputy, Ahmadinejad thought that if he returned to power, Iran could recognize Israel and normalize relations between the two countries under the Abraham Accords.
DURING HIS PRESIDENCY, HE ARGUED THAT ISRAEL SHOULD BE DESTROYED
Ahmadinejad, who during his presidency argued that Israel should be destroyed, denied the Holocaust, and accelerated Iran's nuclear program, later reduced his anti-Israel rhetoric and began to describe himself as a reformist.