Israel's secret attempts to sway Ahmadinejad revealed

Mossad allegedly tried to recruit Iran's ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset, claims NYT report.

A report by the New York Times claims that Israel maintained secret contacts with former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for several years. Israel viewed him as a potential future leader of Iran and attempted to bring him to their side. However, the most crucial part of this plan failed after the war began.

According to the New York Times report, this plan was surprising because Ahmadinejad served as Iran's President from 2005 to 2013 and accelerated Iran's nuclear program during his tenure. He consistently made harsh statements against Israel and denied the Holocaust. The 2009 election protests were also harshly suppressed under his regime. However, after leaving the presidency, there was a noticeable change in his politics and public image. He reduced his anti-Israel rhetoric, began criticizing Iran's security agencies and the establishment, and tried to present himself as a more moderate and people's leader. Israeli intelligence agencies saw this change as an opportunity.

This entire plan included secret meetings abroad, financial assistance, and preparations to extract Ahmadinejad from within Iran. In early 2024, a conference on climate change was organized at Ludovika University in Budapest, Hungary. Outwardly, it was a regular academic event, but it is claimed that its real purpose was to facilitate secret talks between Ahmadinejad and Israeli intelligence officials.

It is reported that at that time, Mossad chief David Barnea himself went to Budapest to meet Ahmadinejad. Later, Mossad informed the American intelligence agency CIA that they had established contact with Ahmadinejad. In June 2025, Ahmadinejad visited Budapest once again. Iranian security personnel accompanying him reported that during this visit, he twice disappeared from the security cordon for several hours. Later, he claimed that he had gone to meet university professors. The report also states that Israeli agents might have contacted him during an environmental conference held in Guatemala in 2023.

The New York Times report claims that after leaving the presidency, Ahmadinejad was prevented from contesting elections several times. According to his close associates, he began to feel that he could not return to power as long as the current Islamic Republic system remained. Therefore, he believed that with foreign support, he could lead Iran after a regime change, recognize Israel, and normalize relations under US President Donald Trump's Abraham Accords. His former advisor Abdolreza Davari told the New York Times that Ahmadinejad's goal was not money but to regain power. According to him, Ahmadinejad already had sufficient resources but wanted to reach the top of the country's power once again.

The report also claims that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad provided financial assistance for some of Ahmadinejad's living and travel expenses abroad and held several secret meetings with him.

The largest phase of this plan began on February 28, when, during the early days of a US and Israeli military operation, an airstrike targeted Ahmadinejad's compound in Tehran. The attack targeted his security personnel's building and bulletproof vehicle. Immediately after the attack, a black Peugeot car arrived and quickly evacuated Ahmadinejad to a secret safe location within Iran. It is claimed by American and Iranian officials that this car was driven by Mossad agents. The objective was to remove him from government surveillance and begin working on Israel's regime change plan. Ahmadinejad became uncomfortable with this entire operation. He found the method extremely risky and became doubtful about the entire plan. Later, he left the safe location, although it is still unclear how he managed to leave.

The report states that Ahmadinejad did not appear publicly for several months afterward. Later, he was seen briefly at the funeral of Iran's former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At that time, he was wearing a mask and a heavy jacket, and security personnel surrounded him. Citing four senior Iranian officials, the New York Times claims that Ahmadinejad is now under the surveillance of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) intelligence unit and is under house arrest. This was done because Iranian officials became aware of his alleged contacts with Israel. Ahmadinejad's plan was part of a larger Israeli strategy, which included arming Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq, capturing some areas in western Iran, and eventually advancing towards Tehran. However, this entire strategy ultimately did not succeed.

However, Ahmadinejad on Tuesday dismissed the New York Times report alleging that Israel's intelligence agency Mossad tried to recruit him and that he is under house arrest. According to a report by Anadolu, Ahmadinejad's office accused the newspaper of publishing fabricated news to mislead public opinion and create internal discord in Iran.