Mossad recruited former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and selected him to head Iran following a planned operation to remove the Islamic Republic’s leadership, an Israeli media outlet reported Monday, citing more than 30 sources across political, defense, diplomatic and foreign circles.
By early 2026, Ahmadinejad had turned into one of Israel’s most significant assets and was picked to take power after “Operation Puss in Boots,” an effort meant to topple Iran’s government, halt its pursuit of nuclear weapons and put new leadership in place, the report said.
The relationship traces back to 2022, when Mossad gathered intelligence pointing to a shift in Ahmadinejad’s thinking, according to the report. Israel zeroed in on his position that Iran could not sustain itself under sanctions and that its nuclear program had turned into a liability rather than a strategic asset.
A team of Mossad operatives kept working on the Ahmadinejad track after landing abroad on October 7, 2023, the same day they learned of the Hamas attack on Israel, the report noted. Then-Mossad chief David Barnea ran the operation directly and at one stage, skipped a security briefing with Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu in order to stay focused on the Ahmadinejad file.
The broader plan reportedly stretched beyond Ahmadinejad himself. It included influence campaigns inside Iran, training and arming Kurdish forces based in Iraq, mobilising minority groups, recruiting local collaborators and setting up a land corridor for militia movement. Israel also worked to pull Azerbaijan into the conflict, according to the report.
Israeli military Intelligence chief Shlomi Binder, Research Division head Ofir Mizrahi Rosen and then-national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi pushed back against the plan, the report said.
Three days ahead of H-hour, internal disagreements escalated to the point that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered a full stop. Netanyahu chose to move forward regardless and the operation fell apart before Kurdish forces had fired a shot.
Ahmadinejad served as Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013. During that period, he denied the Holocaust on multiple occasions, called for Israel’s elimination and said that Tehran could pursue nuclear weapons if it chose to.
He was barred from running in presidential elections after leaving office and gradually distanced himself from the ruling establishment, accusing senior officials of corruption and mismanagement under Ali Khamenei. He also began presenting himself publicly as someone focused on the economic and social struggles of ordinary Iranians.
Ahmadinejad’s current status remains unclear. He attended a state funeral for Khamenei in Tehran last week, months after an alleged airstrike on his residence reportedly ended a period of house arrest.
