Report says U.S. and Israel considered Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a postwar leadership role in Iran
The Facts
- Several news outlets, citing a New York Times report, say the U.S. and Israel had an early plan to elevate former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as part of regime change in Iran.
- The reported plan was tied to the opening phase of the war with Iran and envisioned Ahmadinejad taking power after Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials.
- The reporting says Ahmadinejad was consulted about the plan before it fell apart.
- According to the cited officials, an Israeli strike on or near Ahmadinejad's Tehran residence was intended to free him from house arrest by targeting the guards or security post watching him.
- Multiple reports say Ahmadinejad survived that strike but was wounded, and that this contributed to the collapse of the plan.
- The reported choice of Ahmadinejad drew attention because he is widely known for anti-Israel and anti-U.S. positions during and after his presidency.
- The report indicates the war's initial objectives, as described by the cited officials, went beyond military targets to include an attempt to shape Iran's postwar political leadership.
- Important details remain unresolved in the public reporting, including Ahmadinejad's current whereabouts and condition, while the central account relies on unnamed U.S. officials and a person close to him.
How left and right are reading this
- Both agree
- The reported plan went beyond killing or removing Iran’s leadership to trying to shape who would rule next, with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s alleged role underscoring how far the operation, if accurately described, extended beyond conventional military aims.
- They split on
- Less a disagreement than a question of emphasis: the broader danger of using war to engineer another country’s political leadership, versus the specific contradiction of backing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad despite his well-known anti-U.S. and anti-Israel positions.
Analytical frames for this storyTap to explore
Context
What is the core new claim in this report?
The core claim is that the United States and Israel began the war with Iran with an early regime-change concept that would have put former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a leadership role after the killing of Iran's top leadership haaretz.com,NYT,Indian Express.
How was Ahmadinejad allegedly supposed to be brought into that plan?
The reporting says Ahmadinejad had been consulted in advance and that an Israeli strike on or near his Tehran home was meant to free him from house arrest by hitting the security personnel or post monitoring him ynetnews,ETV Bharat News,News18,Haberler.
Why is Ahmadinejad's reported role considered unusual?
The cited coverage describes Ahmadinejad as an unexpected choice because he is closely associated with hardline politics and anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric, even though the report says U.S. and Israeli planners still considered him for a postwar role Asian News Internat…,Hindustan Times,ANSA.it,Al Jazeera Online.
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Wire services (2)
Independent coverage (50)
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