NYTimes: Inside Israel's Secret Operation to Cultivate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

A suspected years-long effort by Israeli intelligence to bring former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad closer and use him as a political figurehead in a possible regime change scenario in Iran has reportedly ended in failure.

According to a report based on American and Iranian sources, the operation had reached a dramatic stage, where during the first days of the war between Israel and Iran, Ahmadinejad's removal from Tehran and his sending to a safe house controlled by Israeli intelligence were planned.

But the plan, according to these sources, did not materialize as anticipated.

In early 2024, the rector of the Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest, Professor Gergely Deli, received an unusual request from a senior Hungarian government official.

According to the report, the official asked the university to organize a conference on climate change and invite as a special guest former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a figure who had been harshly criticized internationally for years for his stances against Israel, Iran's nuclear program and his statements about the Holocaust.

However, according to the cited sources, the conference also had another purpose: to create an opportunity for Ahmadinejad to hold secret meetings with representatives of Israeli intelligence.

For Professor Delin, the invitation was a difficult decision, as it could damage his reputation and that of the university. However, he said he saw it as an opportunity to help create a channel of communication between the hostile parties.

"You have two enemies, and if these enemies want to talk to each other, then the best thing to do is do what you can to help them talk," Deli stated in an interview.

Ahmadinejad's visit to Ludovika University in 2024 and another visit a year later, according to American and Iranian officials familiar with the matter, were part of a broader effort to groom him as an Israeli intelligence asset.

These officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the suspected operation.

Direct involvement of the head of Mossad

According to former American officials, the effort to bring Ahmadinejad closer was so important to Israel that then-Mossad director David Barnea personally traveled to Budapest in 2024 to meet with the former Iranian president.

After this meeting, according to the same sources, Mossad informed the CIA that it had established contacts with Ahmadinejad.

The report alleges that over the past few years, Israel has covertly funded some of Ahmadinejad's expenses, including trips and stays abroad, while Israeli operatives have met with him on several occasions outside Iran.

If these allegations are true, they would constitute a remarkable turnaround in the relationship between Israel and Ahmadinejad, who during his time in power was one of the most vocal opponents of the Israeli state.

The operation to leave Tehran

According to the cited sources, the effort peaked in late February, during the first days of the military conflict between Israel and Iran.

The objective was to remove Ahmadinejad, who was living under strict surveillance by the Iranian authorities, from the regime's control and place him in a position that would enable him to play a role in a possible political change in Tehran.

On February 28, an Israeli airstrike hit the compound where Ahmadinejad was staying. The attack targeted his bodyguard building and an armored vehicle.

After the bombing, according to four senior Iranian officials, a black Peugeot vehicle arrived in the area and quickly whisked the former president away from the site.

American and Iranian officials with knowledge of the operation claimed that the vehicle was driven by Mossad operatives, who took Ahmadinejad to a secret safe house inside Iranian territory.

However, according to these sources, Ahmadinejad was unhappy with the chaotic manner of the operation and was disappointed with the plan for his return to power.

He later left that safe house under circumstances that are still unclear.

For several months he did not appear publicly, until the funeral ceremony of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Suspect's arrest and Iranian investigations

According to four senior Iranian officials, Ahmadinejad is currently under the control of the intelligence units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is being held under house arrest.

Iranian authorities, according to these sources, have discovered some of his contacts with Israel and have launched investigations into his possible ties to foreign services.

Israeli officials have not commented publicly on the allegations of a plan to put Ahmadinejad in charge of Iran.

According to the report, this plan was part of a broader regime change effort, where another element included support for Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in northern Iraq.

The scenario envisaged arming and training these forces, their entry into western Iran, the creation of controlled areas, and then advancing towards Tehran.

This plan, according to sources, was not realized.

Ahmadinejad's image transformation

After leaving the presidency, Ahmadinejad gradually began to change his public image.

The former president, previously known for his harsh rhetoric against Israel and the West, began to display more moderate stances.

He gave interviews where he talked about culture and pop music in Iran, criticized the authorities' use of force against protesters, and accused the Iranian political elite of corruption.

He abandoned the traditional khaki jacket that had become his political symbol and began appearing in specially tailored suits.

According to reports, he also changed his personal appearance, trimmed his beard, underwent aesthetic treatments and began learning English.

In his office in Tehran, Ahmadinejad held regular meetings with ordinary citizens, who asked him for help with administrative and economic problems.

He traveled through cities and rural areas of Iran, where he met with supporters.

Ambition to return to power

Ahmadinejad's relationship with the Iranian regime had deteriorated after leaving the presidency.

Senior leaders had marginalized him and limited his political influence, and he had been banned from running for president three times.

However, he continued to have support among some sections of Iranian society.

Abdolreza Davari, his former close advisor, said that Ahmadinejad would not risk it for money, but for power.

"Ahmadinejad wouldn't do this for money. He has money; he has a wide economic network. He would do it for power. He wants to be in power," Davari declared.

According to a close associate of his, Ahmadinejad had discussed with trusted people his ambition to return to power even with the help of external factors.

He presented himself as a potential reformer, comparing his future role to that of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

According to this source, Ahmadinejad had also said that, if he came to power, Iran could recognize Israel and normalize relations with it within the framework of the Abraham Accords supported by the Donald Trump administration.

The Revolutionary Guard's suspicions

According to Iranian sources, Ahmadinejad's actions began to arouse suspicions in Revolutionary Guard intelligence.

Suspicions grew after he began sending public letters to Donald Trump in 2017 and later to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Following the Israeli attack and Ahmadinejad's temporary removal from the supervision of the Revolutionary Guard, Iranian services began investigating his possible ties to Israel.

It is not known exactly when efforts to bring Ahmadinejad closer to Israeli intelligence began.

Iranian officials claim that early contact may have occurred during a trip he made to Guatemala in 2023, where he attended an environmental conference.

During that trip, Ahmadinejad was initially stopped at Tehran airport by security forces, who did not allow him to leave.

He protested for several hours and published materials on social media, taking photos with citizens and airport employees.

In the end, the authorities allowed him to travel.

The following year he went to Budapest for the Ludovika University conference, where, according to sources, the meeting with David Barnea took place.

Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, had developed close relations with Israel and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Two months after his first visit, Ahmadinejad returned to Budapest again, shortly before the start of the military conflict with Iran.

According to reports, this visit served as cover for other meetings with representatives of Israeli intelligence.

The Iranian bodyguards who accompanied him abroad reported that during this period he had repeatedly slipped away from their supervision and had held lengthy meetings.

At the university conference, Ahmadinejad gave a speech in English and spoke of "common humanity" and a "changing world order."

He presented Rector Gergely Deli with a copy of the Persian classic "Shahnameh", while receiving the university's coat of arms as a gift.

Deli later said that his role in this process was that of a "Strohmann," a German term meaning a person used as a cover for someone else's interests.

Last public appearance

Until last week, Ahmadinejad had not been seen in public since his departure from Tehran.

He unexpectedly appeared at the funeral ceremony of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Footage from the ceremony showed him wearing a thick jacket, even though the temperature was around 32 degrees Celsius.

He wore a surgical mask pulled down under his chin and stood silently, his head bowed, surrounded by people who appeared to be members of the security forces.

Meanwhile, Iran's other living former presidents, Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami, were not seen at the funeral ceremonies.

Ahmadinejad's status and political future remain unclear.

The GeoPost