NYT: Israeli-developed plan sought to have Ahmadinejad run Iran after Khamenei killed

Assessing that bombing and expected Kurdish invasion would collapse regime, Israel reportedly used airstrike to free Holocaust-denying ex-president from house arrest, but he soured on plan

An Israeli-developed plan called for installing Iran’s Holocaust-denying former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the country’s new leader, after the killing of Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials at the end of February, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Having Ahmadinejad take power was one of the stages in Israel’s envisioned multiphase plan for the war, the report said, citing US officials briefed on the plan.

The plan’s first phase was the US-Israeli aerial campaign that killed top Iranian officials including supreme leader Khamenei, together with an intended mobilization of Kurdish forces, though the latter never materialized.

Israel believed that the invasion and strikes would destabilize the regime, with political pressure and damage to key infrastructure causing it to collapse. Then, an “alternative government” would be able to take charge, the report said. The Mossad spy agency declined to comment.

The Times said a reported strike on Ahmedinejad’s residence during the war’s opening salvo – originally assumed to target the ex-leader himself – was in fact directed at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers enforcing his regime-imposed house arrest.

Ahmadinejad was consulted about the plan, according to the Times, though the manner of his recruitment remains unknown.

The attack succeeded in freeing the ex-president, but it wounded him in the process, after which he reportedly became disillusioned with the scheme. He has not been seen since, and his whereabouts are unknown.

An associate of Ahmadinejad said the US hoped the ex-president would “play a very important role” in the country’s near future, with the capacity to manage its “political, social and military situation.”

The reported scheme to return him to a leadership role is reminiscent of the US’s approach in Venezuela earlier this year. American troops captured the country’s then-leader Nicolas Maduro, but the US left the regime in Caracas otherwise intact, with number two Delcy Rodriguez taking over and cooperating with American requests.

According to the Times, US President Donald Trump looked to the Venezuela operation as a model.

Ahmadinejad, a virulently anti-Israel conservative, served two four-year terms from 2005 to 2013, during which he repeatedly denied the Holocaust, insisted there were no gay people in Iran, called to destroy Israel, and hinted that the Islamic Republic could build a nuclear weapon if it chose to do so.

After Ahmadinejad left office, authorities repeatedly disqualified him from running in subsequent elections.

In recent years, he became a critic of the regime led by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accusing senior officials of corruption and poor governance.

People close to Ahmadinejad have come under scrutiny, drawing questions about their ties to the West and accusations of spying for Israel.

A trip by the ex-president to Guatemala in 2023, followed by trips to Hungary in 2024 and 2025, drew further speculation.

After returning to Iran days before Israel attacked it in June of last year, Ahmadinejad kept a noticeably low profile.

The Times article came amid reporting that Israel’s leaders are expecting and preparing to rejoin fresh US strikes on the Islamic Republic, after repeated indications by Trump that his patience with the regime is running out.

Trump and Netanyahu said they launched the war in February to curb Iran’s support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear program, destroy its missile capabilities, and create conditions for Iranians to topple their rulers.

Iran responded to the attacks by firing on Israel, US forces, and neighboring Mideast countries. The regime also seized control of the Strait of Hormuz, and the US imposed a blockade on Iranian ships and ports.

The war has yet to deprive Iran of its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, though the US and Israel have said it will be removed from the country by force if not through a deal.

The Islamic Republic’s clerical leadership, which had faced a mass uprising at the start of the year, has so far withstood the onslaught.