former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is under house arrest by the Revolutionary Guard's intelligence service after Iranian authorities uncovered a significant portion of his contacts with Israel. According to the report, Israel conducted a covert operation for years aimed at recruiting Ahmadinejad as an intelligence agent, with the ultimate goal of installing him as Iran's leader after the regime's overthrow. The New York Times investigation is based on American, Israeli, and Iranian sources familiar with the details of the operation.
According to the report, one unusual phase of the process occurred in early 2024 when a high-ranking Hungarian government official asked Gergely Dalé, president of the Ludovica University of Public Service in Budapest, to invite Ahmadinejad to a conference on climate change. According to Dalé, he was told the conference would actually be used as a cover for secret talks between Ahmadinejad and Israeli intelligence officials.
According to the newspaper, Israel carried out a covert operation for years aimed at recruiting former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an intelligence agent, and at a later stage planned to place him at the head of Iran after the regime was overthrown.
Despite his concerns about damaging his own reputation and that of the university, he agreed, believing that if Adwan was willing to engage in dialogue, then it should be allowed.
According to the investigation, Ahmadinejad's bodyguards reported that he managed to disappear at least twice during the visit to attend lengthy meetings. When questioned about this, he claimed he was meeting with university professors. During the conference, Ahmadinejad delivered a lecture in English, speaking about "common humanity" and a "changing world order." He surprised the audience by not beginning his speech with a verse from the Quran—a practice he had followed throughout his presidency. He even presented the university president with a copy of "The Book of Kings" by the Persian poet Ferdowsi and received the university's emblem from him.
Ahmadinejad changes his image
Daly admitted to the newspaper that he served as a “front” who facilitated the secret meetings. According to previous US sources, former Mossad chief David Barnea himself traveled to Budapest to meet with Ahmadinejad. Following this, the Mossad informed the CIA that Israel had funded his accommodation and travel expenses in recent years, and that Israeli intelligence officials had met with him several times outside Iran. According to the investigation, Ahmadinejad, who served as president of Iran from 2005 to 2013 and was then considered one of the most prominent figures of hardliners—promoting the Iranian nuclear program, repeatedly calling for the destruction of Israel, and denying the Holocaust—gradually changed his image after leaving office.
The investigation states that Ahmadinejad began to soften his anti-Israel rhetoric, criticizing the security apparatus and government corruption, adopting a more Westernized appearance, learning English, meeting with civilians frequently, and presenting himself as a more moderate politician. According to one of his former advisors, Abdolreza Davari, Ahmadinejad's motivation was not money, but rather a desire to return to power. A close associate told the newspaper that after being disqualified from running for president three times, Ahmadinejad concluded that he could not return to power as long as the existing regime remained in place.
Overthrowing the regime
According to the same source, Ahmadinejad feared that in the event of war and the overthrow of the regime, the United States and Israel would choose to install an exiled opposition figure from outside Iran. Therefore, he presented himself as someone capable of leading the country from within, similar to Boris Yeltsin in Russia. The same source claimed that Ahmadinejad told his aides that if he were to assume leadership of Iran, the country would recognize Israel and normalize relations with it within the framework of the Abraham Accords brokered by President Donald Trump. According to two Israeli security sources, Israeli intelligence closely monitored the escalating conflict between Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior regime officials, particularly after his repeated disqualification from running for president. Meanwhile, according to Iranian sources, the Revolutionary Guard's intelligence apparatus began to suspect him after he sent public letters to Trump in 2017 and later to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Visit Guatemala
According to the investigation, the first contacts between Ahmadinejad and Israel likely began during his visit to Guatemala in 2023, where he was invited to participate in an environmental conference. Iranian authorities attempted to prevent him from leaving the country, but after he barricaded himself for hours at the airport and publicly revealed the incident, he was finally allowed to travel. The investigation suggests the operation culminated in late February of this year, during the early days of the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran. According to this journalistic account, an Israeli attack damaged Ahmadinejad's residential compound in Tehran, including the security building and his armored vehicle. Shortly afterward, a black Peugeot arrived at the site, Ahmadinejad got in, and sped away.
Ahmadinejad had not appeared in public since last February until last week, when he briefly attended the funeral procession of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, appearing standing with his head bowed, surrounded by security men.
American and Iranian sources claimed that the car was carrying Mossad agents who transported him to a secret location inside Iran. However, according to the same sources, Ahmadinejad was disappointed by the rescue operation and the plan to reinstate him to power. He later left the location under mysterious circumstances. Subsequently, Iranian intelligence agencies allegedly began investigating his ties to Israel and gathered extensive intelligence on his activities. According to four high-ranking Iranian sources cited in the investigation, Ahmadinejad is currently under house arrest by the Revolutionary Guard's intelligence service after authorities uncovered a significant portion of his contacts with Israel.
Since his arrest in February, he had not appeared in public until last week, when he briefly attended the funeral procession of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Videos from the funeral show him standing with his head bowed, surrounded by security personnel. Former Iranian presidents Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami did not attend the funeral at all. Mossad did not respond to the newspaper's inquiries on the matter, and a spokesman for Ahmadinejad declined to comment.
