US and Israel Planned to Install Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran’s Leader After Ali Khamenei’s Killing

The New York Times reported that the United States and Israel went into war on Iran intending to replace the regime’s leadership with hardline former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but “quickly went awry,” according to US officials briefed on the “audacious plan”.

“Home News Business Energy Opinion Lifestyle Sports Video Podcast Home News Business Energy Opinion Lifestyle Sports Video Podcast Close the sidebar Home News Middle East Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registers as a candidate for the presidential election at the Interior Ministry, in Tehran, Iran, June 2, 2024”

Al Arabiya English

The Times said Trump mused that it would be best if “someone from within” Iran took over the country after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the newspaper described Ahmadinejad as an unusual choice while noting his calls to “wipe Israel off the map”.

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reported that an Israeli strike on Ahmadinejad’s Tehran home was meant to free him from house arrest, and that he was injured but survived, yet his “current whereabouts and condition are unknown”.

Multiple outlets tied the plan to the war’s opening phase, with i24NEWS saying the strike was designed to free him from house arrest and that he was injured but survived and has not been seen publicly since.

The Guardian added that the plans were reported by the New York Times and that Iranian media treated the report with scepticism, including claims that Ahmadinejad had not been under house arrest.

The Guardian reported that Donald Trump, faced with domestic anger over rising gas prices, said on Wednesday: “Netanyahu will do whatever I want him to do. He’s a great guy, To me he is a great guy.”

In response to the regime-change plan, the White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the New York Times that “The United States military met or exceeded all of its objectives, and now, our negotiators are working to make a deal that would end Iran’s nuclear capabilities for good.”

Al-Jazeera Net

Haaretz and i24NEWS both framed the New York Times reporting as a regime change effort in which Israel developed a plan to install Ahmadinejad ahead of its and the United States’ joint attack on Iran.

i24NEWS said the plan envisioned a multistage collapse of the Iranian government beginning with the opening US-Israeli aerial campaign that killed Khamenei and other top officials, and it said Ahmadinejad had been consulted about the plan.

The Times of Israel reported that the Mossad spy agency declined to comment when asked about the scheme, while an associate of Ahmadinejad told the NYT that Washington viewed him as someone who could manage “Iran’s political, social and military situation”.

The New York Times reporting described Ahmadinejad as having been placed under close watch by Iranian authorities and as having clashed with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with the plan linked to Trump’s public musings about “someone from within” taking over Iran.

The Guardian said Tehran refuses to agree to Washington’s demands on domestic uranium enrichment and wants to delay negotiations on the future of its nuclear programme while focusing on lifting sanctions in return for the end of its blockade of the strait of Hormuz.

The Guardian reported that the US has mounted a counter-blockade of Iran’s ports in an attempt to stop its oil shipments, which principally go to China as its single biggest source of export revenue, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warn they will widen the war beyond the region if Trump resumes his assaults.

The Hill reported that the White House said Trump’s goals for Operation Epic Fury were to destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles, dismantle their production facilities, sink their navy, and weaken their proxy, and it said the plan to install Ahmadinejad never materialized after he was injured in the opening days of the conflict.

Against that backdrop, the Guardian said the episode shows the US and Israel overestimated opposition to the regime and their own ability to bring it down with airstrikes, while the Times of Israel reported that Ahmadinejad has not been seen since the strike and his whereabouts are unknown.