NYT: Israel’s Mossad explored Ahmadinejad’s role after a possible Iran collapse

According to revelations reported by The New York Times, Israeli intelligence allegedly developed a long-term strategy to position former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a possible future leader after a potential collapse of the Islamic Republic. The operation would have included secret contacts, political planning and support networks abroad

Mossad and Ahmadinejad: Israel’s alleged Iran succession plan is at the center of revelations published by The New York Times, which describe an alleged Israeli intelligence operation aimed at preparing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a possible future leader of Iran after a potential collapse of the Islamic Republic.

The reports, based on accounts from American and Iranian officials familiar with the operation, outline a broad strategy coordinated by the Mossad. According to the reconstruction, initial contacts began in 2023 and intensified between 2024 and 2025, with the plan also involving preparations for a possible ground offensive by Kurdish groups trained and armed in northern Iraq.

The alleged objective was to support a political transition in Tehran through a network of contacts and external backing. The operation would have included plans for Kurdish forces to enter western Iran and move toward the capital, according to the accounts cited in the report.

The central phase of the alleged contacts took place in Europe, particularly in Budapest. In 2024 and 2025, Ahmadinejad was invited to the Ludovika University to attend conferences focused on climate change.

University rector Gergely Deli confirmed that he received a formal request from a senior Hungarian government official and approved the meetings as a way to create an informal diplomatic channel between countries considered adversaries.

According to the reconstruction, the academic events also served as a cover for meetings between Ahmadinejad and Israeli intelligence agents. David Barnea, who was Mossad chief at the time, allegedly traveled personally to Budapest in 2024 for a direct meeting with the former Iranian president.

After that encounter, Israeli intelligence reportedly informed the CIA. American sources cited in the report also said that hidden funding was provided for Ahmadinejad’s travel and accommodation expenses during several foreign trips, including an earlier visit to Guatemala in 2023.

The alleged operation entered a decisive phase on February 28, during the early stages of the open military conflict between Israel and Iran. According to the reconstruction, an Israeli airstrike targeted Ahmadinejad’s residential compound in Tehran, destroying the position of his bodyguards and his armored vehicle.

In the following emergency operation, described as a possible rescue or evacuation effort, a black Peugeot allegedly transported the former president to a secure Mossad-controlled shelter inside Iran.

The plan to place Ahmadinejad at the center of a political transition would later fail after he reportedly lost confidence in the operation and decided to leave the safe location. After remaining away from public attention for months, he appeared again only recently during the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

According to Iranian intelligence sources cited in the report, Ahmadinejad is currently under house arrest under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after Iranian authorities allegedly reconstructed his contacts with Israel.

In recent years, Ahmadinejad had moved away from the ultra-conservative and anti-Israeli positions that marked his presidency from 2005 to 2013. According to people close to him, he believed he could no longer return to power through the internal mechanisms of the Islamic Republic and considered the possibility of leading a transition supported from abroad.

Sources from his inner circle said Ahmadinejad even envisioned a future normalization of relations with Israel and Iran’s possible participation in the Abraham Accords.

Neither Mossad nor Ahmadinejad’s official spokesman, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, has issued formal comments on the reported revelations.

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