The Mossad Ahmadinejad Plan: How Israel Tried to Install Iran’s Next Leade

Author: Sanjeet Kumar

How far can a spy agency go? Sending an agent into another country, running an operation, stealing a secret — that’s the usual picture. But one agency keeps rewriting the rulebook, and its name is Mossad. This time, according to fresh investigative reporting from The New York Times and Israel’s Haaretz, the Mossad Ahmadinejad plan was not about stealing information at all. It was about installing a new leader in Tehran. Example: it is the difference between a burglar picking a lock and a burglar trying to become the landlord.

What Was the Mossad Ahmadinejad Plan, and Why Target Him?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad served as Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013 and was, for years, the face of the country’s hardline politics. He denied the Holocaust, pushed Iran’s uranium enrichment program forward, and repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction. On paper, he is the last person Israel would want in power. Yet the reports claim the Mossad Ahmadinejad plan deliberately targeted him — precisely because he knew Iran’s system from the inside and could plausibly hold power after regime change. Example: think of it like a rival company recruiting not an outsider, but the person who once ran your biggest competitor’s factory floor.

The 2016 Warning That Started It All

On 26 September 2016, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed students at a religious seminary in Tehran and used the moment to warn Ahmadinejad against running for president again, saying a repeat candidacy could split the country. Seven months later, in April 2017, Ahmadinejad filed his nomination anyway — openly defying the Supreme Leader. The Guardian Council, whose religious-scholar members are hand-picked by Khamenei, rejected his candidacy. Example: it was the political equivalent of ignoring a boss’s direct instruction and then getting passed over for the promotion anyway.

Three Rejections That Fueled the Mossad Ahmadinejad Plan

Ahmadinejad tried again in 2021, when Ebrahim Raisi was elected, and again in 2025 after Raisi’s death — and was blocked both times. By his third rejection, associates told the New York Times, Ahmadinejad concluded he would never be allowed back into the presidency through Iran’s own system. That is the moment the reports say he became open to outside help, and the Mossad Ahmadinejad plan allegedly moved from an idea to an active operation. Example: like a candidate who, after being rejected by every internal promotion board, starts taking calls from a rival firm.

Guatemala 2023: First Contact in the Mossad Ahmadinejad Plan

The first documented step was a climate summit invitation from Guatemala in October 2023 — a country with unusually close ties to Israel, including an embassy in Jerusalem. Ahmadinejad was initially denied permission to travel and staged a sit-in at the airport lounge, posting photos with supporters on Instagram until the government relented and let him board. According to the Times, this trip marked his first meeting with a Mossad contact. Example: a seemingly routine environmental conference became the cover for a first handshake, much like a diplomatic “cultural exchange” is sometimes used to mask backchannel talks.

Budapest 2024: The Mossad Ahmadinejad Plan Takes Shape

A year later, a similar setup unfolded in Budapest, Hungary — a country seen as one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe. Ludovika University hosted a climate summit, but according to Haaretz’s investigation, a Hungarian official privately told the university’s rector, Professor Gergely Deli, that the real purpose was a secret meeting between Ahmadinejad and Israeli intelligence. Deli agreed, later saying that if two enemies wanted to talk, helping them do so wasn’t wrong. At that summit, the New York Times reports, Ahmadinejad met then-Mossad chief David Barnea — the man also linked to major operations against Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah. Example: it’s comparable to a university lecture hall quietly doubling as a neutral meeting room for two governments that officially refuse to speak to each other.

The February 28 Strike and the Dramatic Rescue

On 28 February 2026, the first wave of joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran killed Khamenei and roughly 30 senior regime officials. Reports say the strike on Ahmadinejad’s compound was different — it hit his bodyguard unit and armored vehicle first, after which a black Peugeot, reportedly driven by Mossad operatives, picked him up and moved him to a secret safe house. Where he went afterward, and why he left that safe house, remains unexplained in either report. This moment is described as the operational high point of the Mossad Ahmadinejad plan. Example: like an extraction scene in a spy film, except the extracted person apparently walked away from his own rescuers soon after.

Why the Mossad Ahmadinejad Plan Reportedly Failed

Iran’s Population Didn’t Rise Up

Israeli and American planners reportedly expected the strikes to trigger an uprising that would topple the regime from within. Instead, Iranians largely rallied around the government rather than against it. Example: a strategy built on the assumption that a shove would cause a collapse, when in reality it caused people to brace and push back.

Kurdish Forces Never Moved

The Times also claims Mossad had trained and armed Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq to push into western Iran, but that offensive never materialized — with Haaretz separately reporting that Trump never gave the Kurdish factions a clear green light. Example: like assembling a second team for a relay race, then never handing them the baton.

From Hardliner to “Reformist”: Ahmadinejad’s Public Makeover

After leaving office, Ahmadinejad’s image shifted noticeably. He traded his trademark khaki jacket for tailored suits, groomed his beard, sharpened his English, and began criticizing Iran’s security crackdowns in interviews — a dramatic reinvention for a man once seen as the face of the 2009 protest crackdowns. He also held daily public meetings in Tehran, helping ordinary citizens with bureaucratic problems and writing recommendation letters, keeping his political base alive despite being out of power. Example: not unlike a retired executive who suddenly starts giving folksy interviews and shaking hands at town halls, rebuilding a public image piece by piece.

Unanswered Questions About the Reports

Both investigations rely heavily on anonymous sources, and several details remain hard to square. If the plan was this far along, why did Ahmadinejad flee the very safe house Mossad allegedly built for him? Why was he allowed to walk in Khamenei’s funeral procession while other former presidents were reportedly excluded? And why did Khamenei still place him on Iran’s powerful Expediency Discernment Council after repeatedly blocking his candidacy? These gaps are exactly why the Mossad Ahmadinejad plan, as reported, still needs independent confirmation. Example: similar to a spy story where the ending doesn’t quite match the elaborate setup — a sign that key chapters may still be missing.

What the Mossad Ahmadinejad Plan Means for the Israel-Iran War

The war triggered by the failed Mossad Ahmadinejad plan is still not fully resolved. The ceasefire memorandum signed on 17 June is showing cracks, with both Iran and the United States now separately claiming toll rights over the Strait of Hormuz. On 14 July, an Iranian strike on a UAE oil tanker killed an Indian sailor and injured eight others, prompting India to summon Iran’s deputy mission chief in protest. Example: two governments arguing over who controls a shipping lane, while sailors from uninvolved countries pay the real price.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Mossad Ahmadinejad plan?

It refers to an alleged multi-year Israeli intelligence effort, reported by the New York Times and Haaretz, to cultivate former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an asset and potentially install him as Iran’s transitional leader after a regime-change operation.

Where did Mossad reportedly meet Ahmadinejad?

The reports point to two foreign trips — a 2023 climate summit in Guatemala and a 2024 climate conference in Budapest, Hungary — both allegedly used as cover for meetings with Israeli intelligence officers, including then-Mossad chief David Barnea.

Why did the plan reportedly fail?

The reports cite two main reasons: Iranians did not rise up against the regime as Israeli and American planners expected, and Kurdish forces that were allegedly trained to advance from northern Iraq never received the go-ahead to move.

Where is Ahmadinejad now?

His whereabouts are unclear. He was last seen publicly at Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral procession, and Iranian authorities are reported to have tightened surveillance on him since his ties to Israeli intelligence came to light.

Are the NYT and Haaretz reports confirmed by Iran?

No official Iranian confirmation or denial had been issued at the time of writing. Both stories are based on unnamed American and Iranian sources, and several details — including how and why Ahmadinejad left the alleged Mossad safe house — remain unverified.

Sources and further reading:

• Haaretz: Inside the Mossad Plot to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran’s Leader
• Business Standard: Inside Israel’s Secret Operation to Cultivate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (NYT syndication)
• Ya Libnan: Inside Israel’s Secret Operation to Cultivate Ahmadinejad

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