Appoint A Hardliner In Tehran? Inside The War’s Early Iran Regime-Change Goal

Last Updated:May 20, 2026, 10:18 IST

An Israeli air strike targeting Ahmadinejad’s home in Tehran was allegedly intended to free him from house arrest and place him in power after top Iranian leaders were killed.

The United States and Israel reportedly entered the early phase of the Iran war with an ambitious and controversial goal of regime change in Tehran to be led by former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hardliner, reports New York Times. United States’s Iran regime change plan was very similar to Venezuela’s.

According to US officials, an Israeli air strike targeting Ahmadinejad’s home in Tehran was allegedly intended to free him from house arrest and eventually place him in power after top Iranian leaders were killed in the opening phase of the conflict.

The plan, however, quickly began to fall apart.

Israeli strike linked to Ahmadinejad plan

Days after Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and other senior officials, US President Donald Trump publicly suggested that “someone from within" Iran should take over the country.

Officials later revealed that the United States and Israel had a particular figure in mind – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, despite his long record of anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric.

US officials said the Israeli strike on Ahmadinejad’s home on the first day of the war was designed to free him from confinement.

According to officials and an associate of Ahmadinejad, he was injured in the strike but survived. However, the near-death experience reportedly left him disillusioned with the regime-change effort.

He has not appeared publicly since then, and his whereabouts and condition remain unclear.

What we know about Ahmadinejad?

Ahmadinejad served as Iran’s president between 2005 and 2013 and was known for his hardline views.

During his presidency, he repeatedly attacked Israel and the United States and strongly backed Iran’s nuclear programme. He was also criticised for suppressing dissent inside Iran.

Among his most controversial remarks were denying the Holocaust and claiming there were no gay people in Iran. He also attended an event called “A World Without Zionism".

His statements often drew international criticism and even became the subject of satire in Western media and television shows.

Despite this record, some officials in Washington allegedly believed Ahmadinejad could stabilise Iran after a regime collapse.

Multi-stage Iran regime change plan

According to officials familiar with the planning, Israel had envisioned a multi-stage operation to topple Iran’s theocratic government.

The first phase involved joint US-Israeli air strikes and the killing of Iran’s top leadership.

The second stage reportedly aimed to create instability through Israeli influence operations and Kurdish mobilisation against Iranian forces.

Israeli planners believed growing unrest and damage to infrastructure such as electricity systems would weaken the regime and create the conditions for an “alternative government".

The final stage involved installing new leadership in Tehran.

Officials said Ahmadinejad had been consulted about the broader plan, although how he was recruited remains unclear, added the NYT report.

Strike on Ahmadinejad’s Tehran home

US officials said the strike on Ahmadinejad’s home was carried out by the Israeli Air Force.

The operation reportedly targeted guards watching over him as part of efforts to release him from house arrest.

Although Ahmadinejad’s house itself was not heavily damaged, a nearby security outpost was destroyed, according to satellite imagery. Initial reports in Iranian media claimed Ahmadinejad had been killed.

Later reports confirmed that he survived while members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stationed there were killed. Officials said those guards had both protected and monitored him during his confinement.

An article published later described the strike as “in effect a jailbreak operation".

Ahmadinejad rift with Iranian leadership

After leaving office, Ahmadinejad increasingly clashed with Iran’s ruling establishment.

He attempted to contest presidential elections in 2017, 2021 and 2024, but Iran’s Guardian Council blocked his candidacy each time.

Over the years, he openly accused senior Iranian officials of corruption and poor governance.

Although he never became a full opposition figure, Iranian authorities reportedly began treating him as politically destabilising.

His movements became increasingly restricted to his home in eastern Tehran.

At the same time, rumours circulated about possible links between some of his associates and Western or Israeli intelligence agencies.

His former chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, faced scrutiny in 2018 over alleged connections to British and Israeli spy agencies.

Links to the West raise questions about Ahmadinejad

Ahmadinejad’s ties with the West have remained unclear.

In a 2019 interview, he praised Donald Trump and called for improved relations between Iran and the United States.

US officials reportedly viewed him as someone capable of managing Iran’s political, military and social situation after regime change. One associate, as mentioned by NYT, claimed American officials saw Ahmadinejad in a role similar to Delcy Rodriguez after the removal of Venezuela’s leadership.

In recent years, Ahmadinejad also made several international trips that drew attention.

He travelled to Guatemala in 2023 and later visited Hungary in 2024 and 2025. Hungary’s leadership maintains close ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

After returning from Budapest shortly before the war began, Ahmadinejad maintained an unusually low profile during the conflict.

His silence regarding Israel, a country he had long described as Iran’s main enemy, sparked speculation on Iranian social media.

Trump’s plan failed to deliver expected results

Apart from the air campaign and the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, much of the broader regime-change strategy failed to unfold as Israeli planners had expected.

Iran’s government survived the first months of the war despite heavy attacks and political pressure.

The developments exposed what critics described as a major miscalculation by both the United States and Israel regarding Iran’s resilience. Still, some Israeli officials reportedly continued to believe the regime-change operation could have succeeded.

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