Mossad chief sacks two senior officials over failed Iran “regime-change” plan

‘Israel’s’ Mossad director Roman Gofman has fired two of the spy agency’s most senior officials linked to an ambitious but unrealized plan to topple Iran’s Islamic leadership, according to a Hebrew Channel 12 report.

The officials are the head of the Mossad’s Intelligence Directorate, who took up the post in December, and the head of the agency’s Iran Division.

Neither was named in the report.

Security sources told Channel 12 that the pair had conceived and drafted the covert proposal, which was presented to US President Donald Trump.

The plan envisioned Kurdish ground forces entering Iran under heavy ‘Israeli’ and American air cover, with Iranian minority groups helping to oust the clerical leadership and install alternative figures.

Reports earlier indicated that former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been discussed as a potential successor, though that element reportedly unraveled after an ‘Israeli’ strike intended to free him from house arrest wounded him and prompted doubts.

Gofman, who assumed the role in early June 2026 after serving as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military secretary, is said to have held the officials accountable because the plan was never executed on the ground as intended.

Officials framed the departures as mutual agreements stemming from poor working chemistry with the new director from the outset, describing them as part of a broader reorganization of the Mossad.

Both individuals are expected to remain in the agency in other capacities.

The Channel 12 report stressed that the two officials had made “invaluable contributions to Israel’s security.”

One source critical of the decision noted that Gofman himself had been a key supporter of what it called “regime-change” efforts against Tehran.

The moves come amid ongoing regional tensions and follow earlier leadership changes at the agency, including the earlier departure of the longtime deputy director.

At Gofman’s inauguration, Netanyahu told the new director that he would “remove Iran’s regime from the world.”
Gofman himself has spoken of the Iranian “Shiite axis” having suffered significant blows and has reportedly explored new approaches to undermine Tehran’s government.