An investigation published today (Monday) in the New York Times claims that Israel attempted to recruit former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as someone destined to inherit power in Iran after the overthrow of the regime.
According to the report, former Mossad head Dadi Barnea met personally with former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Budapest during 2024. According to the investigation, the purpose of the meeting was to recruit Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset and prepare him for the role of leader of Iran after the overthrow of the regime.
According to the newspaper report, Ahmadinejad was invited to secret discussions in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, with Israeli intelligence officials in early 2024. He was invited there under the guise of an academic conference - and according to the report, met twice with Mossad officials - in 2024 and 2025.
According to the report, a meeting with Mossad head Dedi Barnea also took place in 2024. The Mossad informed the American CIA about the meetings.
The investigation also reported that Ahmadinejad himself underwent a significant change after leaving office. He softened his positions, toned down the anti-Israel rhetoric that had characterized him in the past, and began to present himself as a more moderate figure. He gave interviews in which he criticized Iran's security forces and corruption in the establishment, also addressed cultural issues, changed his style of dress, and began to learn English.
American and Iranian officials told The New York Times: "This is part of a years-long Israeli effort to cultivate Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset who, when the time comes, could be appointed as Iran's new leader.".
All this, despite the fact that during his tenure as President of Iran, Ahmadinejad was the one who accelerated Iran's nuclear program, called for the destruction of Israel, and denied the Holocaust.
According to the report, Israel secretly paid money to Ahmadinejad, and Israeli intelligence officials met with him on several occasions.
This effort reached its peak at the end of February of this year - in the early days of Operation "Harry's Roar", when a daring operation was carried out designed to smuggle Ahmadinejad to a safe Mossad facility, as part of the plan to overthrow the regime.
This plan failed.
On February 28, the opening day of the operation, an Israeli airstrike hit Ahmadinejad's compound, targeting the building where his bodyguards and armored vehicle were located. After the attack, a black Peugeot arrived on the scene and quickly rescued him from the scene of the attack.
The car was driven by Mossad agents, who transported Ahmadinejad to a secret safe house in Iran - but Ahmadinejad, who was upset by the rescue operation, decided to leave the Mossad safe house, under circumstances that are still unclear.
According to Iranian sources, Ahmadinejad is currently under house arrest by the Intelligence Branch of the Revolutionary Guards, after Iran discovered his ties with Israel.
Last week, he was seen in public for the first time during Ali Khamenei's funeral, but it was clear that he was not well.
The Mossad did not respond to The New York Times' request for comment.
