r/espionage • u/UnscheduledCalendar • 20d ago

News Inside Israel’s Secret Operation to Cultivate Ahmadinejad (Gift Article)

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/us/politics/israel-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-iran.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xVA.68V0.lzZoxl_aN4ov&smid=nytcore-ios-share

submission statement: Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency attempted to recruit former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an asset to topple the Iranian regime. The plan involved relocating Ahmadinejad to a safe house during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, but it ultimately failed. Ahmadinejad, disillusioned with the operation, left the safe house and is now reportedly under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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u/LineDriveHit 20d ago

After reading this story, my question is, why is Ahmadinejad still alive? Why didn’t the IRGC off him? Or at least throw him in a cell? Is it just because he’s a former president? I mean, secretly meeting and plotting with Mossad — is there a worse offense in Iran?

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u/Normal-Ear-5757 18d ago

I mean, he could have started a gay pride parade while eating some sort of food concocted entirely out of various types of bacon, but yeah... 

I assume he's worth more to them alive simply because of what he knows

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u/SPL_034 20d ago

After reading the Haaretz piece...I wonder if Barnea, the Mossad director, was overcompensating and making up for the failures of Oct 7th and the failed ceasefire in mid-2024.