New Delhi: A New York Times (NYT) investigation published Monday has claimed that Israel spent years secretly cultivating former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset and potential replacement for Iran’s leadership. The operation culminated in a failed attempt to move him to safety during the opening days of the US-Israeli war.
The plan centred on one of Israel’s most unlikely potential partners. As Iran’s president from 2005-2013, Ahmadinejad accelerated the country’s nuclear programme, repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction, and denied the Holocaust.His government also violently suppressed protests that challenged his disputed re-election in 2009, and the judiciary, under his rule, also employed mass executions against political rivals and dissidents.
Yet, Israeli intelligence reportedly came to view Ahmadinejad’s growing estrangement from Iran’s ruling establishment, and his continued support among sections of the working class, as an opportunity.The effort unfolded through covert meetings abroad, financial support, and an eventual attempt to extract him from government surveillance in Tehran.
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