According to The New York Times, erstwhile Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears to person been the fig Donald Trump had successful caput when, during the archetypal days of the Middle East war, helium stated that it would beryllium amended if “someone from within” Iran took implicit the country’s leadership.
However, the program — reportedly devised by the Israelis and 1 that Ahmadinejad himself had been informed astir — rapidly went wrong, according to US officials.
The reason? An Israeli bombing raid connected the archetypal time of the warfare targeting his location successful Tehran, which had allegedly been designed to escaped him from the location apprehension imposed by the Iranian regime.
Ahmadinejad survived, “but aft this near-death experience, helium became disillusioned with the regime-change plan,” the New York Times writes. Since then, helium has not appeared publicly, and his existent determination and information stay unknown.
US officials said the onslaught — carried retired by the Israeli Air Force — aimed to termination the guards monitoring him arsenic portion of a program to escaped him from location arrest.
The onslaught caused small harm to his home, located astatine the extremity of a dead-end street. However, the information checkpoint astatine the entranceway of the thoroughfare was hit, and outer imagery reportedly shows it was destroyed.
In the pursuing days, authorities quality agencies clarified that Ahmadinejad had survived, but that his “bodyguards” — successful world members of the Revolutionary Guards who some protected and confined him — had been killed.
An nonfiction successful The Atlantic successful March, citing anonymous associates, stated that the erstwhile president had been freed from authorities restrictions aft the onslaught connected his home, describing the cognition arsenic “essentially a situation break.”
Following that article, 1 of his associates confirmed to The New York Times that Ahmadinejad interpreted the onslaught arsenic an effort to escaped him. The aforesaid subordinate said the Americans viewed him arsenic idiosyncratic susceptible of starring Iran and managing “the country’s political, social, and subject situation.”
The rationale down the plan
The cognition — chartless until present — was reportedly portion of Israel’s broader program to overthrow Iran’s theocratic government. In reality, however, it highlights however Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered the warfare not lone underestimating however rapidly they could execute their goals, but besides gambling to immoderate grade connected a risky leadership-change program successful Iran that adjacent immoderate US statesmanlike aides considered unlikely.
Some American officials were reportedly particularly skeptical astir whether Ahmadinejad could realistically instrumentality to power.
During the aboriginal days of the war, US officials spoke astir plans developed jointly with Israel to place a pragmatist who could instrumentality power of the country. They claimed determination was quality suggesting that immoderate figures wrong the Iranian authorities would beryllium consenting to cooperate with the United States, adjacent if they could not precisely beryllium described arsenic “moderates.”
As The New York Times notes, this was besides the play during which Trump was celebrating the occurrence of a US cognition involving Venezuelan person Nicolás Maduro and the willingness of his impermanent replacement to cooperate with the White House — a exemplary Trump reportedly believed could beryllium repeated elsewhere.
An antithetic choice
As the New York Times observes, “to accidental that Mr. Ahmadinejad was an antithetic prime would beryllium a monolithic understatement.”
Although successful caller years helium had progressively clashed with Iran’s clerical enactment and was nether adjacent surveillance by Iranian authorities, during his presidency (2005–2013) helium became notorious for calls to “wipe Israel disconnected the map.”
He was a beardown protagonist of Iran’s atomic program, a fierce professional of the United States, and known for violently suppressing home opposition.
During his presidency, Ahmadinejad besides made arguable statements specified arsenic claiming that “there are nary homosexuals successful Iran,” denied the Holocaust, and spoke astatine a Tehran league titled “A World Without Zionism.”
He was besides president during a play erstwhile Iran accelerated uranium enrichment that could perchance beryllium utilized for a atomic limb if the programme were militarized.
However, successful caller years Ahmadinejad had accused Iran’s enactment of corruption. The Tehran authorities barred him from respective statesmanlike elections, arrested immoderate of his associates, and progressively restricted his movements to his location successful the Narmak territory of eastbound Tehran.
Although helium ne'er openly became anti-regime, authorities began treating him arsenic a perchance destabilizing figure.
His remarks astir Trump and his trips to the West
In a 2019 interrogation with The New York Times, Ahmadinejad praised Trump and advocated rapprochement betwixt Iran and the United States.
“Mr. Trump is simply a antheral of action,” helium said. “He is simply a businessman, and truthful helium tin cipher costs and benefits and marque decisions. We archer him: fto america cipher the semipermanent costs and benefits for our 2 nations and not beryllium shortsighted.”
People adjacent to Ahmadinejad person been accused of maintaining excessively adjacent relations with the West oregon adjacent spying for Israel, portion his travels successful caller years further fueled conspiracy theories.
In 2023, helium traveled to Guatemala, and successful 2024 and 2025 to Hungary — 2 countries with adjacent ties to Israel.
During his visits to Hungary, Ahmadinejad spoke astatine a assemblage associated with Viktor Orbán. He returned to Iran conscionable days earlier the Israeli and US attack.
Since then, helium has maintained a precise debased nationalist profile, making lone a fewer societal media posts. His soundlessness regarding the warfare with a state helium had agelong described arsenic Iran’s top force has drawn aggravated commentary connected Iranian societal media.
Ask maine anything
Explore related questions
Greek (GR) · 
English (US) ·