Israel's Plan to Make Mahmoud Ahmadinejad New Leader of Iran Fails

Israel had long planned to secretly make Iran's former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad its asset during the US-Israel war to overthrow Iran and make him the new leader, but the plan failed. A report in the New York Times states that these efforts were launched on Israel's behalf since 2024. Israel invited Ahmadinejad on the pretext of a climate conference at Ludovika University in Hungary. David Barnea, then head of Mossad, met him there. Israel also paid for his accommodation and trips. Israel's goal was to make Ahmadinejad an intelligence asset and install him as Iran's new leader during the war. He was at first radicalized, but later softened. He himself expressed a desire to gain power with foreign help. As soon as the war began, his compound was attacked with Israeli airstrikes. Mossad agents escorted him to a secure car, but Ahmadinejad was detained in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).