The New York Times reports that Israel's Mossad informed the CIA of its secret meetings with former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Budapest in 2024 and 2025, as part of a long-running effort to cultivate him as a post-regime leader. The report details cash payments, a meeting with Mossad chief Dedi Barnea, and a failed rescue operation on the opening day of Operation Roaring Lion. Ahmadinejad is now under house arrest by the IRGC's intelligence wing, according to Iranian and American officials cited by the Times.
The New York Times reported Monday that the Mossad's daring operation to extract former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on February 28, the opening day of Operation Roaring Lion, failed and he is now under house arrest. The revelation adds a new layer to the story first reported by The Zioneer at 13:40 Jerusalem, when the Times initially disclosed that Israel had cultivated Ahmadinejad for years, including secret meetings in Budapest and cash payments, with the aim of installing him as a post-regime leader.
The Zioneer's initial report at 13:40 detailed the meeting between former Mossad chief Dedi Barnea and Ahmadinejad in Hungary. At 13:47, we reported the failed rescue operation and Ahmadinejad's subsequent house arrest. At 13:49, we confirmed that four senior Iranian officials told the Times that Ahmadinejad is being held under house arrest by the IRGC's intelligence wing. At 13:51, we focused on the secret Budapest meetings in 2024 and 2025 and the cash payments.
As The Zioneer reported on July 6, Ahmadinejad was spotted alive at the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, ending speculation about his fate. The Mossad's long-running operation to cultivate him is part of a broader pattern of Israeli intelligence activities, including the 2018 raid on Iran's nuclear archive, which former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen revealed was rehearsed in Africa, as The Zioneer reported on June 25.
What remains unclear is how Ahmadinejad left the Mossad safe house and the full extent of the IRGC's investigation into his contacts with Israel. The Times report, citing Iranian and American officials, did not specify the circumstances of his departure from the safe house.
6 developments
- DevelopingAhmadinejad met Mossad chief under alleged Israeli plan, now under arrest — report
- DevelopingNYT: Mossad Groomed Ahmadinejad as Post-Regime Leader, Smuggled Him Out of Tehran
- StrongNYT: Israel paid former Iranian president Ahmadinejad, attempted rescue on Operation Roaring Lion opening day
- DevelopingReport: Mossad agents extracted Ahmadinejad after Israeli strike on his compound on Feb. 28
Source and signal
- Internal intake