The New York Times reports that Israel's Mossad secretly paid former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and met with him multiple times, including a 2024 meeting with then-Mossad chief Dedi Barnea in Budapest, as part of a long-running effort to cultivate him as a post-regime leader. The report details a failed rescue on February 28, the opening day of Operation Roaring Lion, when an Israeli strike hit his home compound and Mossad agents extracted him to a safe house, but he left agitated. Iranian and American sources tell the Times that Ahmadinejad is now under house arrest by the IRGC's intelligence wing.
The New York Times, in an expanded report published Monday, reveals that Israel's Mossad secretly paid former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and held multiple meetings with him, including a 2024 meeting in Budapest with then-Mossad chief Dedi Barnea, according to American and Iranian officials cited by the paper. This is the latest disclosure from the Times investigation, which The Zioneer has been tracking since the initial reports at 13:45 Jerusalem. The payment and the full scope of the meetings were not previously part of the public record.
The Zioneer's thread on this story began at 13:45 Jerusalem, when four senior Iranian officials confirmed to the Times that Ahmadinejad was under house arrest by the IRGC's intelligence wing. Simultaneously, we reported the failed Mossad rescue operation on February 28, the opening day of Operation Roaring Lion, and the airstrike that hit his home compound before the extraction. The corroboration of these details has evolved: initial reports cited only Iranian officials; by 13:52, the Times reported that the Mossad had informed the CIA of the secret meetings; by 13:54, the CIA notification was confirmed. The current report adds the previously undisclosed payments and the Budapest meeting. The Mossad declined to comment, as noted by Israeli journalist Doron Kadosh.
The report situates the effort within Israel's broader intelligence campaign to shape Iran's post-regime leadership. As The Zioneer reported on July 6, Ahmadinejad was spotted alive at the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, quashing death rumors. The Times report underscores that Ahmadinejad, a Holocaust denier who accelerated Iran's nuclear program, was viewed by Mossad as a potential asset for a post-Islamic Republic government.
What remains open: Ahmadinejad's current status is under house arrest by the IRGC's intelligence wing, with his fate uncertain. The Times report does not specify the amount of the payments or the full timeline of the meetings. The failure of the extraction operation leaves questions about the viability of the plan to position him as a future leader.
4 developments
- DevelopingNYT: Mossad Groomed Ahmadinejad as Post-Regime Leader, Smuggled Him Out of Tehran
- DevelopingAhmadinejad met Mossad chief under alleged Israeli plan, now under arrest — report
- DevelopingReport: Mossad agents extracted Ahmadinejad after Israeli strike on his compound on Feb. 28
- DevelopingAhmadinejad reportedly spotted at Khamenei's funeral in first public appearance since Operation Roaring Lion
Source and signal
- Internal intake