Israel Reportedly Groomed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Lead Iran. Now He’s Missing From Public View

A bombshell report alleges that Israel spent years cultivating one of its most notorious adversaries, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a covert effort to position him as a potential leader of a post-Islamic Republic of Iran.

Citing American, Israeli and Iranian officials familiar with the intelligence operation, The New York Times reported that the head of Israel’s foreign intelligence agency Mossad, David Barnea, secretly met with Ahmadinejad abroad, paid for some of his travel and housing expenses, and even developed a contingency plan to extract him from Tehran during the recent U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

According to the report, the secret contacts became visible in early 2024 when Hungary’s Ludovika University of Public Service invited Ahmadinejad to speak at what appeared to be a climate conference in Budapest. The event, however, allegedly served as cover for clandestine meetings between Ahmadinejad and Israeli intelligence operatives.

University rector Gergely Deli told The New York Times that a senior Hungarian government official explained the true purpose of the invitation, saying the conference existed primarily to facilitate the secret discussions. “You have two enemies, and if these enemies want to talk with each other, then it’s best to do what you can to make them talk,” Deli told the outlet.

The report says the operation became such a priority that then-Mossad chief David Barnea personally traveled to Budapest in 2024 to meet Ahmadinejad. Shortly afterward, Mossad reportedly informed the CIA that it had established contact with him.

American officials cited by The New York Times said Israeli intelligence believed Ahmadinejad’s deteriorating relationship with Iran’s ruling establishment created a rare opportunity.

Following the end of his presidency, Ahmadinejad increasingly clashed with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the country’s political elite. He was barred from running for president multiple times and publicly criticized Iran’s security establishment, corruption, and restrictions on political participation.

According to people familiar with the discussions, Ahmadinejad privately concluded that he could never regain power under Iran’s current political system. One associate told The New York Times that the former president envisioned himself as a reform-minded transitional leader similar to former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, capable of normalizing relations with Israel and eventually joining President Donald Trump‘s Abraham Accords.

Former Ahmadinejad adviser Abdolreza Davari told the newspaper that the former president’s motivations were political rather than financial. “Ahmadinejad would not do this for money,” Davari said. “He would do it for power.” The reported operation reached its most dramatic phase during the opening days of the recent conflict between Israel and Iran.

According to four senior Iranian officials cited by the outlet, an Israeli airstrike struck Ahmadinejad’s residential compound when the war began on Feb. 28, targeting his bodyguards’ building and armored vehicle. Moments later, a black car allegedly arrived and evacuated the former president.

American and Iranian officials familiar with the operation told the newspaper the vehicle was driven by Mossad operatives, who transported Ahmadinejad to a safe house inside Iran as part of a broader regime-change strategy.

That plan reportedly included training and arming Kurdish opposition forces based in northern Iraq to seize territory inside western Iran before advancing toward Tehran. The operation never materialized.

Ahmadinejad ultimately became frustrated with the Israeli plan and left the safe house under circumstances that remain unclear. His whereabouts remained unknown until last week, when he briefly appeared during the funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

According to four senior Iranian officials cited by the newspaper, Ahmadinejad is now under house arrest and in the custody of the intelligence branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after authorities allegedly uncovered details of his contacts with Israel.

Neither Israeli nor Iranian officials have publicly confirmed the allegations and Mossad declined to comment to The New York Times. Ahmadinejad spokesman, Ali Akbar Javanfekr also declined to comment.

Former Israeli military intelligence chief Tamir Hayman previously acknowledged that Ahmadinejad formed part of a broader sequence of covert operations aimed at destabilizing Iran’s leadership.”There was a sequence of special operations, very, very unique, that was supposed to happen,” Hayman said during a May appearance on PBS’ Firing Line. “And Ahmadinejad was part of that sequence.”