Washington DC [US], May 20 : US officials have revealed that an early objective of the war with Iran involved an ambitious regime-change strategy centred on reinstating former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the country's leader, according to The New York Times report.
The news report stated that after strikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, US President Donald Trump publicly suggested that it would be preferable if "someone from within" Iran assumed power.
The plan, reportedly developed by Mossad (the national intelligence and covert operations agency of Israel) in consultation with Ahmadinejad, aimed to use the former hard-line Iranian president despite his past rhetoric calling to "wipe Israel off the map."
While Ahmadinejad served as a fierce critic of the West during his presidency from 2005 to 2013, the news report noted that he had recently clashed with Iran's current theocratic establishment and was placed under house arrest in Tehran.
According to the US daily, on the opening day of the war, an Israeli strike targeted Ahmadinejad's residence. Although the operation was allegedly intended to free him, it nearly resulted in his death. One associate described the strike as "in effect a jailbreak operation" designed to eliminate members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who were guarding him.
Ahmadinejad reportedly survived the strike but later became disillusioned with the broader plan. An associate quoted in the news report said Washington viewed him as someone capable of managing "Iran's political, social and military situation" and able to "play a very important role" in a future government.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly outlined the broader objectives of what she called "Operation Epic Fury," saying, "From the outset, President Trump was clear about his goals for Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran's ballistic missiles, dismantle their production facilities, sink their navy, and weaken their proxy." She added that the military had achieved its objectives and that negotiators were working to end Iran's nuclear capabilities "for good."
The NYT further stated that Ahmadinejad's recruitment into the alleged plan remains unclear. However, it cited a 2019 interview in which he described Trump as a "man of action" and a "businessman" capable of calculating "cost-benefits."
The news report also noted that Ahmadinejad had recently travelled to Hungary and Guatemala, both interpreted as maintaining close ties with Israel, shortly before the conflict began.
According to the NYT report, "Operation Epic Fury" envisioned a three-stage collapse of the Iranian government. However, despite Israeli strikes reportedly killing Khamenei, the anticipated political upheaval failed to produce a complete regime collapse, suggesting that planners may have significantly underestimated Iran's institutional resilience.
Despite the reported setback, Mossad Director David Barnea allegedly told associates that the plan "had a very good chance of succeeding" if events had unfolded as intended.
The New York Times added that Ahmadinejad has not appeared publicly since the strike on his home, and his current whereabouts remain unknown.
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