Inside Mossad's ‘secret plot’ to recruit Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for post-war Iran

Once a hardliner who was known for accelerating Iran’s nuclear program and calling for the destruction of Israel and the West, he was reportedly Israel's intelligence agency Mossad's top target as part of a regime change plot in Iran.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president, was approached by Israel's Mossad in a plan to install him as Iran's leader after toppling the government in Tehran this year, the New York Times (NYT) reported. However, the regime change plot failed.

On Monday (July 13), Ahmadinejad blasted the Mossad recruitment report as "Hollywood-style" lies, denying and dismissing coup plot claims. His office described the NYT and its report as "known for publishing fake news and fabricating lies."

We take a closer look.

The 2024 secret meetings in Hungary

The chapter of the alleged operation to cultivate Ahmadinejad unfolded in Hungary. A climate conference was conducted to cover for an intelligence meeting.

More from Explainers

Who is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, US and Israel's pick to lead Iran?

US & Israel planned to install ex-President Ahmadinejad as Iran’s leader: Report

In early 2024, a top Hungarian government official asked Gergely Deli, rector of Ludovika University of Public Service, to hold a climate change conference and invite Ahmadinejad.

Deli was informed by officials that the conference would facilitate secret talks between intelligence operatives from Israel and Ahmadinejad in Budapest, Hungary's capital.

Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad denied a NYT report alleging that Israel's Mossad tried to recruit him in Budapest as part of a failed regime change plot. File image/Reuters

In an interview, Deli told the newspaper that he had concerns about the invitations; however, he believed this meeting could reduce tensions and save lives.

"You have two enemies, and if these enemies want to talk with each other, then it's best to do what you can to make them talk," he said, as quoted by the NYT.

According to former US officials, Israel's then-spy chief David Barnea personally visited Budapest in 2024 to meet the former Iranian president. Soon after the meeting, Mossad notified the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that contact had been established, the newspaper reported, citing former American officials.

Iranian and American officials familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the NYT, said Ahmadinejad’s 2024 visit to the university and again the following year were part of Israel's yearlong effort to train him as an intelligence asset who could be made Iran's new leader at the right time.

Audacious operation to relocate Ahmadinejad

Israel's regime-change plan decision reached its most dramatic stage on February 28 this year, also the first day when the US and Israel launched a coordinated strike on Iran.

The plan was to relocate the former president, who was under strict surveillance in Tehran. On February 28, the objective was to topple the current Iranian leadership and install Ahmadinejad immediately.

However, the operation did not go as planned.

On the same day, an Israeli airstrike hit Ahmadinejad’s compound, damaging the building of his security detail and targeting his armoured vehicle.

Following the strike, a black Peugeot car arrived, picked up the former President, and drove him away from the chaotic scene to a safe house, according to four senior Iranian officials.

The report quoted US and Iranian officials familiar with the operation as saying that the car was transported by Mossad agents, and they took Ahmadinejad to a safe and secret place.

When the regime change plan failed

Israel's regime change plan quickly fell apart. Ahmadinejad was deeply upset by the rescue effort and sceptical of Israel's plan to help return him to power, people with knowledge of the matter told the publication.

The former Iranian President eventually left the safe house under circumstances that remain unclear.

After the February incident, he did not make any public appearances. He briefly reappeared at the funeral ceremonies of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last week.

Ahmadinejad is in the custody of the intelligence branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and under house arrest after Tehran learned about his interactions with Israel, the NYT report claims.

However, Iranian authorities have not responded to the claims.

From khaki windbreaker to tailored suits

Ahmadinejad was Iran's President from 2005 to 2013. He was known as the nation's most prominent hard-line politician. Like other Iranian leaders, he spoke of eliminating Israel and strengthening the country's enrichment of uranium. He was a hardliner until he became a reformer.

Years after leaving the presidency, he toned down his anti-Israel rhetoric and often criticised Iran's security forces for heavy-handed crackdowns. He also accused the ruling leadership of financial corruption.

Transformation in his appearance did not go unnoticed. Ahmadinejad abandoned his signature oversized khaki windbreaker and started donning tailored suits. He reportedly gave up on his messy beard and began learning English.

His relationship with the Iranian government was complicated. Top leaders in the power structure curbed his movements and marginalised him; however, he was still provided a seat next to senior officials on a high-level council that advises the supreme leader.

The NYT report also noted that the former president had a fallout with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dissatisfaction with Iran's direction.

Israel, on the other hand, was closely monitoring the rising rift between Ahmadinejad and the Iranian regime during this period, the two Israeli defence officials familiar with intelligence assessments at that time told the publication.

It is also said that Ahmadinejad's advisers were certain that the former Iranian leader wished to return to power one day.

Abdolreza Davari, a former close associate and senior adviser of Ahmadinejad, said in a phone interview with the NYT, "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."

With inputs from agencies