- July 13, 2026
- 6:16 pm
- World News
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who for years denied the Holocaust and threatened Israel, may have secretly collaborated with Israeli intelligence and is preparing to return to power after the fall of the ayatollah regime.
This is stated in an investigation by The New York Times, published on July 13, 2026. The material was worked on by four journalists, including Israeli correspondent Ronen Bergman, who specializes in the activities of intelligence services.
The publication claims that Israeli representatives did not limit themselves to one-time contacts with Ahmadinejad. He was considered a potential transitional leader of Iran, capable of taking power after strikes on the regime, a split in the power structures, and a possible armed offensive by the Iranian opposition.
The alleged operation developed over several years. It included Ahmadinejad’s trips to Guatemala and Hungary, meetings with Mossad representatives, payment of foreign expenses, preparation of a safe house inside Iran, and plans to use the former president after the start of the war.
However, the entire structure collapsed. The Kurdish offensive did not take place, the mass collapse of the regime did not occur, and Ahmadinejad himself left the shelter prepared for him and, according to Iranian sources, ended up under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Israel officially does not comment on the investigation data. Therefore, part of the story remains based on the testimonies of anonymous current and former officials from the US, Israel, and Iran, rather than on published documents.
From a president who threatened Israel to a possible Mossad partner
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held the post of President of Iran from August 3, 2005, to August 3, 2013.
During his rule, he became one of the most famous representatives of the radical wing of the Islamic Republic. Ahmadinejad denied the Holocaust, participated in conferences with Holocaust deniers, and regularly made threats against Israel.
That is why the assumption of his cooperation with Israeli intelligence seems paradoxical.
After leaving the presidency, Ahmadinejad’s relations with the leadership of the Islamic Republic gradually deteriorated. He criticized corruption, the influence of the Supreme Leader’s entourage, and the economic policy of the authorities.
The Guardian Council repeatedly did not allow the former president to participate in elections. In particular, Ahmadinejad was banned from participating in the 2024 presidential campaign.
According to The New York Times sources, after several refusals, he concluded that he would not be able to return to power as long as the current political system remained.
Ahmadinejad allegedly told close people that in the event of war, Israel and the US might bet on an emigrant oppositionist who poorly knows the country and has no connections within the Iranian state apparatus.
He feared that such a scenario would lead not to a controlled change of power but to chaos and the collapse of Iran.
Ahmadinejad saw himself as a person from the old system who could destroy its political structure but preserve the state itself. According to the investigation, he compared his possible role to Boris Yeltsin during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
To people in his circle, the former president allegedly said that after returning to power, he could recognize Israel and normalize relations with it within the framework of the ‘Abraham Accords’.
No public documents have been published in which Ahmadinejad would give such commitments to Israel. But NYT sources claim that the Israeli side already perceived him not only as a possible source of information but also as a political asset.
Guatemala: possible start of secret contacts
One of the first important points in the alleged operation was Ahmadinejad’s trip to Guatemala.
According to the investigation’s retelling, the trip took place in 2023, not in 2024, as indicated in some initial publications.
Officially, the former president was going to participate in an environmental conference. Iranian security forces initially tried to prevent him from leaving the country.
After public protests by Ahmadinejad’s supporters and a sit-in, he was still allowed to leave Iran.
It was during this trip, according to The New York Times sources, that Ahmadinejad could have first met with people representing Israeli intelligence.
There is no documentary confirmation of the meeting itself. However, Ahmadinejad’s trips to Guatemala and Hungary after the information about the plan became the subject of additional attention from Iranian and international media.
May 2024: conference in Budapest as a cover
The next important stage took place in May 2024.
Ahmadinejad arrived in Budapest at the invitation of the Hungarian University of Public Service Ludovika. Formally, he was supposed to participate in an event related to environmental and climate issues.
The invitation of a politician known for denying the Holocaust caused a sharp reaction from Jewish organizations in Hungary and representatives of Israel.
But, according to the investigation, the conference itself could have been just a cover for secret negotiations.
University rector Gergely Deli told journalists that a high-ranking Hungarian official asked to organize Ahmadinejad’s invitation. Deli was allegedly explained that the event was necessary for conducting closed contacts.
NYT sources claim that during this visit, the then-director of Mossad, David Barnea, personally met with the former president of Iran.
Neither Barnea nor Israeli intelligence publicly confirmed this meeting.
June 2025: second trip before the war
Ahmadinejad’s second visit to Budapest took place in June 2025.
According to The New York Times, this happened a few days before the start of a 12-day Israeli military campaign against Iran.
The publication claims that during the trip, Ahmadinejad twice managed to break away from the IRGC officers accompanying him. At this time, he allegedly met again with Israeli representatives.
The investigation also claims that Israel paid for Ahmadinejad’s accommodation and expenses related to foreign trips.
From the available information, it is unclear how the financing was carried out, who directly received the money, and whether there were written agreements.
Therefore, it cannot yet be asserted that Ahmadinejad was officially recruited as a Mossad agent.
A more accurate formulation is that there could have been prolonged secret cooperation between him and the Israeli side, including political agreements, meetings, and financial support.
The regime change plan was much broader than Ahmadinejad
The operation involving the former president was just one element of the Israeli strategy.
Another part of the plan was supposed to be the offensive of armed formations of Iranian Kurds based in northern Iraq.
It was assumed that the prepared and armed detachments would cross the border, capture areas in western Iran, and create a permanent bridgehead.
Then the Kurdish forces were to begin advancing into the country, simultaneously demonstrating the IRGC’s inability to control the territory.
Former head of Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate Tamir Hayman spoke about these plans in an interview with the American program Firing Line, which aired on May 29, 2026.
Hayman confirmed that a sequence of special operations aimed at changing power in Iran was discussed. He named the Kurdish formations’ offensive as the central element. In this structure, Ahmadinejad was assigned a separate political role.
According to Hayman, the operation was stopped after the intervention of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ankara feared that arming and strengthening Iranian Kurds would lead to the emergence of a new center of Kurdish resistance and create a direct threat to Turkey’s security.
Hayman stated that Erdogan convinced US President Donald Trump to abandon support for the Kurdish offensive. Publications about these statements appeared on June 2, 2026.
Without an armed invasion and territorial bridgehead, the political operation involving Ahmadinejad was effectively deprived of its foundation.
February 28, 2026: strike on Ahmadinejad’s complex
The culmination of the alleged operation was the events of February 28, 2026.
On this day, the US and Israel launched massive strikes on Iran. During the attack, a guarded complex associated with Ahmadinejad in the Tehran district of Narmak was hit.
Initially, the strike was perceived as a possible attempt to kill the former president.
However, The New York Times sources claim that the real target could have been the IRGC personnel nearby who were controlling Ahmadinejad.
As a result of the attack, his bodyguards were allegedly killed, and an armored vehicle was destroyed.
After the strike, according to the investigation, Ahmadinejad was taken by people associated with Mossad and moved to a pre-prepared safe house inside Iran.
It was from there that the political part of the operation was supposed to begin.
It was assumed that after weakening the Iranian authorities, Ahmadinejad would address the population, announce his return to politics, and attempt to split the state apparatus.
However, this did not happen.
According to American and Iranian sources, the former president quickly became disillusioned with the course of the operation and left the safe house under unclear circumstances.
It is unknown whether he left on his own, contacted the IRGC, or was discovered and detained.
The first reports that the US and Israel might have been preparing Ahmadinejad for the role of the new leader of Iran appeared in international media on May 20, 2026. At that time, it was reported that he was considered a transitional figure after the possible fall of the regime.
Almost five months without public appearances
After the events of February 28, 2026, Ahmadinejad disappeared from the public space.
For several months, there was no reliable information about whether he was alive, free, or where he was.
The former president was first noticed again on July 6, 2026, when he appeared at the funeral procession of Ali Khamenei in Tehran.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty confirmed Ahmadinejad’s presence at the ceremony on July 6.
In the published footage, the former president was surrounded by enhanced security.
His appearance was the first public confirmation that Ahmadinejad survived the February strikes.
Funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei took place in several Iranian cities. The main procession in Tehran began on July 6, and the burial in Mashhad took place on July 9, 2026.
House arrest and IRGC investigation
The New York Times investigation claims that after leaving the safe house, Ahmadinejad ended up under the control of the IRGC intelligence unit.
Four high-ranking Iranian officials told the publication that the former president is now effectively under house arrest.
The IRGC is allegedly investigating his contacts with Israel, foreign trips, and meetings in Budapest.
Publications about this appeared on July 13, 2026, the day the new NYT investigation was released.
Officially, the Iranian authorities have not charged Ahmadinejad with treason and have not confirmed his arrest.
This may be explained by the fact that an open trial against the former president would be extremely dangerous for the regime.
Such proceedings would require publicly acknowledging that Mossad had been in contact for several years with a person who held the highest state position and maintained connections within the Iranian elite.
Why Israel might have chosen Ahmadinejad
At first glance, choosing a person with such an anti-Israel biography seems illogical.
But Ahmadinejad had several advantages over emigrant oppositionists.
He is well-known within Iran, has experience in state management, maintains contacts among officials and security forces, and has certain support among the poor and provincial population.
Israel might have hoped that the appearance of the former president would present the change of power not as a foreign invasion but as an internal Iranian process.
Ahmadinejad himself likely hoped to use Israel as a temporary ally to return to power.
It is here that the interests of the parties could temporarily coincide.
Israel wanted to get a manageable politician capable of splitting the regime.
Ahmadinejad wanted to get military, financial, and intelligence support, without which he could no longer return to the presidential palace.
For NAnews — Israel News, this story is important not only as a story about an unusual Mossad operation.
It simultaneously demonstrates the capabilities and limitations of Israeli intelligence.
Israel likely managed to establish contacts with a person from the very center of the Iranian political system, organize meetings abroad, and prepare operational infrastructure inside Iran.
But even such capabilities did not guarantee a political result.
The IRGC did not collapse, the Kurdish offensive did not begin, a mass uprising did not occur, and Ahmadinejad did not become a transitional leader.
What is confirmed and what remains a version
It is reliably known that Ahmadinejad held the post of President of Iran from 2005 to 2013, later came into conflict with part of the regime’s leadership, and was repeatedly not allowed to participate in presidential elections.
His trips to Guatemala and Budapest are confirmed, including the visit to Ludovika University in May 2024.
His disappearance after the start of the war on February 28, 2026 and public appearance at Ali Khamenei’s funeral procession on July 6, 2026 are confirmed.
Tamir Hayman publicly confirmed the existence of a larger plan, including the Kurdish offensive and Ahmadinejad’s political role.
At the same time, Ahmadinejad’s personal meeting with David Barnea, the financing of his trips by Israel, his transfer to a safe house, and house arrest are based on anonymous sources from The New York Times.
Israel has not confirmed this information.
Ahmadinejad himself has not given any public explanations.
Therefore, it is premature to call him a proven agent of Mossad.
But if the main points of the investigation are correct, we are witnessing one of the most paradoxical intelligence operations of recent decades: a politician who built his international reputation on hatred of Israel could rely on Israel’s help to lead Iran again.
Key dates
2005–2013 — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency.
2023 — trip to Guatemala, during which, according to NYT, one of the first contacts with Israeli representatives could have taken place.
May 2024 — visit to Ludovika University in Budapest and the alleged meeting with Mossad director David Barnea.
June 2025 — Ahmadinejad’s second trip to Budapest and new alleged contacts with Israeli intelligence.
February 28, 2026 — strike on a guarded complex near Ahmadinejad’s residence and his alleged transfer to a safe house.
May 20, 2026 — first major publications about the US and Israel’s plan to use Ahmadinejad after the fall of the Iranian regime.
May 29, 2026 — Tamir Hayman’s interview on the Firing Line program about the failed Kurdish offensive and the plan for regime change.
July 6, 2026 — Ahmadinejad’s first public appearance after almost five months of absence.
July 9, 2026 — burial of Ali Khamenei in Mashhad.
July 13, 2026 — publication of a new investigation by The New York Times about Ahmadinejad’s contacts with Mossad and his alleged house arrest.