Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been placed under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) following revelations of secret dealings with Israel, according to The New York Times, citing American and Iranian sources. The alleged dealings were part of a years-long covert operation by Israel aimed at grooming Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset who could be installed as Iran's new leader.
Sources claim Israel provided Ahmadinejad with secret financial support for housing and travel and met with him abroad on multiple occasions. This alleged relationship is particularly striking given Ahmadinejad's past rhetoric, which included calls for the destruction of Israel and denial of the Holocaust, as well as his acceleration of Iran's nuclear program during his presidency from 2005 to 2013.
The clandestine operation reportedly culminated in an attempt in February of this year to relocate Ahmadinejad, intending to facilitate the toppling of the current Iranian regime and install him as leader. The plan, however, appears to have failed.
On February 28, Ahmadinejad's compound was reportedly struck by an Israeli airstrike targeting his bodyguards' building and armored vehicle. Following the strike, Ahmadinejad was allegedly picked up by Mossad agents and taken to a secret safe house in Iran. Sources suggest he was discontent with the operation and Israel's plan to return him to power. He later left the safe house under unclear circumstances and was not publicly seen until attending the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Sources within the IRGC's intelligence wing claim Ahmadinejad is now under house arrest, a development that occurred after the regime learned the extent of his interactions with Israel. Tel Aviv has not publicly commented on its alleged mission.
The reported scheme also involved training Iranian Kurdish opposition forces in northern Iraq and arming them to infiltrate western Iran. This aspect of the operation also did not come to fruition.
Tamir Hayman, a former head of intelligence for the Israeli Defense Forces, described the regime-change mission as a series of unique special operations, with Ahmadinejad being a part of that sequence.
Evidence of Ahmadinejad's alleged engagement with Israeli operatives has emerged from events dating back to 2024. In one instance, the rector of a university in Budapest was approached by a Hungarian government official with a request to host Ahmadinejad for a climate change conference, which was later revealed to be a cover for covert talks with Israeli intelligence operatives. Ahmadinejad's subsequent trips to Budapest in 2024 and 2025 were reportedly part of this Israeli initiative. During one trip in 2024, then-Mossad chief David Barnea reportedly met with Ahmadinejad personally in Budapest. Mossad later confirmed these discussions to the CIA.
During his presidency, Ahmadinejad was known for his hardline stance, ordering crackdowns on protests and overseeing mass executions of dissidents. However, in the years following his presidency, his public image shifted. He was observed to have moderated his rhetoric, occasionally expressing a desire to reform and even normalize relations with Israel under certain conditions, possibly inspired by the Abraham Accords.
This transformation and his increasing disillusionment with the Iranian government, after being disqualified from running for president multiple times, reportedly made him a subject of interest for Mossad. Agents monitored his rift with the regime and his resentment towards senior politicians. His actions, including public letters to figures like Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also drew suspicion from the IRGC's intelligence branch.
It was only after the February airstrike that freed Ahmadinejad from IRGC surveillance that Iranian intelligence agencies reportedly began investigating his ties to Israel more thoroughly. Iranian officials suggest contact may have occurred as early as 2023, during a trip to Guatemala, where he faced initial travel restrictions before being allowed to depart.
Ahmadinejad's public reappearance at Ayatollah Khamenei's funeral saw him wearing a mask and jacket in hot weather, standing silently with his head down and flanked by security guards.