Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was placed under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence wing after Iranian authorities discovered his alleged contacts with Israel. The information was published this Monday (13) by the North American newspaper The New York Times, which states that the former head of state spent years being the target of a secret operation conducted by Israel to recruit him as an intelligence source and, later, prepare him to take command of the country if the current ayatollah regime was overthrown.
Former Iranian president placed under house arrest, says newspaper
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was placed under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence wing after Iranian authorities discovered his alleged contacts with Israel. The...
According to the newspaper's investigation, the plan would be part of a broader strategy to change government in Tehran. One of the episodes mentioned occurred in 2024, when Ahmadinejad was invited to participate in a conference on climate change promoted by Ludovika University, in Budapest, Hungary.
The institution's rector, Gergely Deli, told the New York Times that he was informed by a member of the Hungarian government that the event would serve as a cover for private meetings between the former Iranian president and Israeli intelligence agents.
The report also cites reports from former members of the United States government, according to which David Barnea, then director of Mossad, Israel's intelligence and special operations agency, traveled to Budapest to meet in person with Ahmadinejad.
Also according to the investigation, Israel paid for the former Iranian president's expenses and made payments to Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad's spokesman.
Another episode mentioned occurred in February this year, when an Israeli air strike hit the residential complex where Ahmadinejad lived in Tehran. According to American and Iranian authorities interviewed by the newspaper, Mossad agents removed the former president from the location and took him to a secret hiding place. Shortly afterwards, however, he left the shelter under circumstances that were not clarified and only appeared publicly again last week, during the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
After learning of the alleged contacts with Israel, Iranian authorities decided to place Ahmadinejad under house arrest, according to the New York Times. Sources close to the former president told the newspaper that his motivation for collaborating with Israel would not be financial, but political.
"He has money; he has a wide economic network. He would do this for power. He wants to be in charge of power," declared Abdolreza Davari, a former advisor and ally of Ahmadinejad, in a telephone interview with the North American newspaper.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad governed Iran between 2005 and 2013 and gained international prominence for his statements against Israel, his defense of Iran's nuclear program and his frequent criticism of the United States. During his term, he was also marked by repression of opponents and controversial statements, such as Holocaust denial.
In recent years, however, he began to accumulate differences with members of the most influential core of the Iranian regime. He criticized authorities for cases of corruption and mismanagement, saw allies arrested and had his attempts to run for President again in the 2017, 2021 and 2024 elections blocked. Despite the friction, he never officially broke with the Islamic Republic. According to the New York Times, Ahmadinejad lived under permanent surveillance at his residence located in the Narmak neighborhood, in eastern Tehran.
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Source:
Noticias ao Minuto - Mundo
