Report claims Mossad chief met Iran’s Ahmadinejad to install him as ruler

‘Israel’s’ Mossad spent years secretly grooming former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — once one of ‘Israel’s’ most vociferous enemies — as a potential intelligence asset and post-change leader.

The allegedly audacious operation, reported by the New York Times, aimed to position the hard-line populist at the helm of a new Iranian government following a supposedly anticipated collapse of the Islamic Republic.

The effort, which has been ongoing since 2022, reportedly involved covert financial support for Ahmadinejad’s housing and travel, along with clandestine meetings abroad.

A key episode occurred in Budapest in 2024, where Mossad chief David Barnea personally met the former president under the cover of a climate change conference at Ludovika University of Public Service.

Hungarian officials facilitated the gathering as a front for the sensitive discussions, claims the NYT report.

Israeli intelligence also notified the CIA of the contact.

Ahmadinejad, who served as Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013, was long notorious for accelerating the country’s nuclear program, denying the Holocaust, and calling for ‘Israel’s’ destruction.

Yet in recent years, he adopted a more moderate public persona, criticizing the current leadership, toning down anti-‘Israel’ rhetoric, and positioning himself as a populist reformer eager for power.

A close associate described his ambitions: “Ahmadinejad would not do this for money. He has money; he has a wide economic network. He would do it for power. He wants to be at the helm of power.”

The former leader reportedly told confidants he could act as a stabilizing figure, potentially normalizing relations with ‘Israel’ under frameworks like the Abraham Accords.

The operation reached its climax in the early days of the US-‘Israel’ war with Iran in late February 2026.

On Feb. 28, an ‘Israeli’ airstrike targeted Ahmadinejad’s Tehran compound, specifically hitting guards and security structures to free him from house arrest imposed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Mossad operatives then extracted him in a black Peugeot to a secret safe house inside Iran.

The plan quickly unraveled. Ahmadinejad was reportedly injured in the strike and became disillusioned. He left the safe house under unclear circumstances.

Former ‘Israeli’ military intelligence chief Tamir Hayman later noted that Ahmadinejad was part of “a sequence of special operations, very, very unique, that was supposed to happen.”

Ahmadinejad resurfaced briefly at Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral in early July 2026 but has largely remained out of public view.

Iranian officials claim he is now under IRGC house arrest after the leadership uncovered his contacts with ‘Israel’.