DUBAI: In the early stages of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, officials explored a plan to reinstall former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to US sources qouted by the New York Times.
The proposal, developed by the Israeli’s, included a high-risk strike intended to free Ahmadinejad from house arrest in Tehran, as well as the use of Kurdish forces and the bombing of energy infrastructure to force regime collapse.
Ahmadinejad, who served as Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013, built his reputation on deeply adversarial positions toward both Israel and the United States. He strongly supported Iran’s nuclear ambitions and was widely criticized for authoritarian policies and inflammatory rhetoric during his time in office.
Although he later fell out with Iran’s ruling establishment - clashing with senior leaders, facing political restrictions, and eventually being placed under house arrest.
US President Donald Trump had indicated that a successor emerging from within Iran would be the preferred outcome. According to the Times, Trump favoured an outcome similar to the successful removal of Maduro in Venezuela.
