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Ahmadinejad Denies Mossad
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected allegations that Israel’s Mossad sought to recruit him and denied reports that he has been placed under house arrest, saying the claims are “completely false.”
In a statement carried by Iranian outlet Bahar News, Ahmadinejad’s media office said the New York Times allegations were a psychological warfare campaign designed to mislead public opinion.
Kurdistan24 said Ahmadinejad’s office issued its response on Tuesday and described the reports as “baseless,” while also denying claims that he has been confined to his home.
Kurdistan24 tied the controversy to a New York Times report alleging Israeli intelligence spent several years attempting to cultivate Ahmadinejad, including repeated contacts outside Iran and meetings connected to visits to Budapest.
The dispute also centers on a New York Times claim that the effort culminated in the early stages of the recent conflict involving Iran, when Israeli operatives allegedly attempted to remove Ahmadinejad from Tehran, a claim Ahmadinejad’s office rejected.
Budapest, Safe House
The New York Times allegations described by IranWire say Israeli intelligence agencies established contact with Ahmadinejad and that, following the first wave of attacks on Tehran, he was relocated by Israeli operatives to a “safe house.”
IranWire also reported that the New York Times claimed Ahmadinejad met with the head of Mossad in Budapest and was later placed under house arrest by the Islamic Republic, while Ahmadinejad’s office rejected the account as “false” and based on “Hollywood-style claims.”
Turkiye Today said Ahmadinejad’s office described the allegations, including the house arrest claim, as fabricated reports intended to mislead public opinion and deepen divisions inside Iran.
Turkiye Today quoted the Mossad recruitment report’s framing that “We categorically reject all the completely false allegations promoted by The New York Times,” and said Mossad officials did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.
The same Turkiye Today account said an Israeli airstrike hit Ahmadinejad’s compound on Feb. 28 and that a black Peugeot later arrived and collected him, while four senior Iranian officials said he was taken to a secret safe house inside Iran.
Reactions and Stakes
i24NEWS said Ahmadinejad’s office dismissed reports that Mossad sought to recruit him as an intelligence asset and considered installing him as Iran’s leader, calling the allegations “Hollywood-style claims.”
“In early 2024 Gergely Deli received an extraordinary request”
Speaking to Israel's Channel 14, former senior Mossad official and intelligence commentator Sagi Assulin criticized the publication of reported operational details, warning that “information that harms the security of the state is published in foreign sources.”
Kurdistan24 said Ahmadinejad’s office denied the house arrest claim and described it as having “no factual basis,” after renewed public interest in his whereabouts following his appearance at the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that Ahmadinejad attended the funeral of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in his first public appearance since the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The dispute, as framed across the reports, pits Ahmadinejad’s office against the New York Times narrative about Mossad contacts and alleged removal attempts, while multiple outlets also describe the allegations as disputed and rejected.
