Reports claim Israel's Mossad met with Iran's former president Ahmadinejad in Budapest for regime change talks; Ahmadinejad denies allegations

Reports reveal a highly controversial covert Israeli operation, code-named Operation Puss in Boots, to recruit former hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to lead a post-theocratic regime in Tehran. Former Mossad chief David Barnea reportedly met Ahmadinejad in Budapest to groom him, utilizing financial support and academic covers. Despite internal Israeli skepticism, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed the plan forward. Following a chaotic Mossad extraction attempt in February 2026, Ahmadinejad reportedly grew disillusioned and is now under house arrest by the IRGC, though his office vehemently denies the allegations as 'Hollywood-style' lies.

Mossad recruitment of Ahmadinejad

• ▪Israel's intelligence agency Mossad conducted a covert operation to recruit former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to lead a post-Islamic regime in Tehran
• ▪David Barnea, then the director of Mossad, personally traveled to Budapest, Hungary, in 2024 to meet with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad under the cover of a climate conference at Ludovika University of Public Service
• ▪Israel secretly provided Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with financial assistance for housing and travel, and Mossad operatives met him during multiple overseas trips, including to Guatemala in 2023 and Hungary in 2024 and 2025

Ahmadinejad's post-presidency transformation

• ▪Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed to associates that he could assume the role of a reformer in the event of regime change, comparing himself to Boris Yeltsin, and suggested he could normalize ties with Israel
• ▪Following his presidency, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad distanced himself from the Iranian regime, trimmed his beard, shed his trademark jacket, and worked to improve his English

Operation Puss in Boots execution

• ▪On February 28, 2026, an Israeli airstrike targeted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's compound in Tehran, after which Mossad operatives transported him to a secret safe house
• ▪The Israeli regime-change mission targeting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was code-named Operation Puss in Boots

Ahmadinejad's current custody status

• ▪Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became disillusioned with the Israeli rescue operation, left the safe house under mysterious circumstances, and is now believed to be under house arrest in the custody of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence wing
• ▪Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office issued a statement on July 13, 2026, forcefully denying the recruitment allegations, calling them 'Hollywood-style' fabrications and accusing The New York Times of publishing fake news

Israeli internal disagreement

• ▪David Barnea reportedly skipped a high-level security consultation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the Gaza war to focus on the operation involving Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
• ▪Disagreements arose within Israeli ranks over the regime change mission, with former National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi dismissing the plans as 'wild fantasies' and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordering a halt before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overrode them