Iran

Report: Israel Courted Ahmadinejad to Lead Post-War Iran

Was Mossad grooming Ahmadinejad as a covert asset or is that laughable disinformation?

Published 3 hours ago

Report: Israel Courted Ahmadinejad to Lead Post-War Iran

Story

Above: Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran on June 2, 2024. Image credit: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

Israel's Mossad spent years grooming Ahmadinejad as a covert asset and lining him up as Iran's leader, secretly paying for his housing and travel while orchestrating clandestine meetings in Budapest with then-spy chief David Barnea. The plan culminated in a dramatic Feb. 28 extraction from Tehran by Mossad operatives after an Israeli airstrike hit his compound.

Sandeep on X The New York Times

Narrative B

The claim that Israel and the U.S. wanted Ahmadinejad as Iran's next leader is laughable propaganda designed to erode Iranian trust in Israel. Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust-denying extremist who cited the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and claimed Zionists poison rats to contaminate Iranian food — no serious intelligence operation would back this man. This story is regime-friendly disinformation.

Ida Turan on X The Jerusalem Post