Israel and the U.S. allegedly devised a covert plan to reinstall former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the leader of Iran [1, 2, 3].
This alleged operation represents a high-stakes attempt at regime change by leveraging a former head of state to shift Iran's internal political trajectory toward interests favorable to Western powers.
The scheme reportedly took place during the Israel-U.S. war on Iran, which began on Feb. 28, 2026 [3]. According to reporting from the New York Times, the hidden objective of that conflict was to return Ahmadinejad to power [3]. The plan involved secret consultations and recruitment efforts aimed at facilitating his return to the presidency.
BBC Arabic said the "bold plan" developed by the Israelis and discussed with Ahmadinejad soon faltered [2]. The efforts were intended to install a leader perceived as more manageable or favorable to Israeli and U.S. strategic interests [2, 3].
Other reports suggest that Ahmadinejad himself was seeking a return to the top of the Iranian power structure [1]. However, the execution of the plan never materialized, and the effort to bring him back to power ultimately failed [2].
Not all sources agree on the nature of these contacts. DW Arabic reported varying accounts regarding the alleged secret meetings between Ahmadinejad and Israeli officials [4]. Similarly, Reuters focused on Ahmadinejad's candidacy for the June 2026 presidential election without mentioning Israeli recruitment [5]. Despite these discrepancies, multiple high-tier outlets maintain that a secret scheme was coordinated between the U.S. and Israel to orchestrate a leadership change in Tehran [2, 3].
“The hidden objective of the American-Israeli war on Iran was to reinstall Ahmadinejad”
The reported attempt to recruit Mahmoud Ahmadinejad underscores the extent to which external powers have attempted to weaponize internal Iranian political fractures. By attempting to install a known quantity with previous leadership experience, the U.S. and Israel sought a shortcut to regime change that avoided a total vacuum of power, though the failure of the plan highlights the difficulty of manipulating Iran's complex clerical and military hierarchy from the outside.
