Story perspectives

Mossad Enlists Ahmadinejad, Israeli Strike Destroys Tehran Compound

7/15/2026

Summary

Mossad Recruits Ahmadinejad

Mossad planned to recruit President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, using a conference at Budapest’s Ludovika University as cover.
Chief David Barnea met Ahmadinejad in Budapest 2024, informed the CIA of a channel, and arranged funding for his travel.
An Israeli airstrike destroyed Ahmadinejad’s Tehran compound in February 2026; he was moved to house, placed under Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrest, and appeared at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral on July 6, 2026.

Summary

Hungary Masks Talks

A Hungarian official asked rector Gergely Deli to use the 2024 climate conference as a cover for secret talks, prompting an invitation for former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Tamir Hayman told PBS’s “Firing Line” the regime-change plan also included arming Iranian Kurdish opposition forces in northern Iraq, which never materialised.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested in 2023 that Iran needed an insider to take power, echoing speculation about Ahmadinejad’s return.

Summary

Zamir Cancels Operation

Israeli officials called the covert scheme “Operation Puss in Boots,” a new code name.
Former national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi called the plan “wild fantasies,” showing dissent.
IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir ordered the operation’s cancellation three days before launch.
IDF Military Intelligence warned that installing Ahmadinejad could create a purely military regime.
Hungary’s senior official used the invitation as a Mossad cover, prompting EU concerns.

History

Historical Context

In August 1953 the CIA and Britain’s MI6 launched Operation Ajax, spending a $1 million budget to overthrow Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and reinstall Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The coup sparked decades of Iranian anti-foreign resentment, fueling the 1979 revolution and shaping Tehran’s wariness of external regime-change plots. Israel’s recent aborted plan to reinstall former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad echoes that historic pattern.

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Mossad Recruits Ahmadinejad

Mossad planned to recruit President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, using a conference at Budapest’s Ludovika University as cover.
Chief David Barnea met Ahmadinejad in Budapest 2024, informed the CIA of a channel, and arranged funding for his travel.
An Israeli airstrike destroyed Ahmadinejad’s Tehran compound in February 2026; he was moved to house, placed under Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrest, and appeared at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral on July 6, 2026.

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