US and Israeli officials didn't just launch a war against Iran this year; they also quietly bet on an unlikely replacement to lead the country: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The former Iranian president—famous for Holocaust denial, backing Tehran's nuclear program, and once urging Israel's eradication—was nonetheless seen as a potential "alternative government" figure, according to American officials briefed on the plan who spoke to the New York Times. Israel's blueprint, supported by the Trump administration, envisioned decapitating Iran's leadership, sowing internal chaos, and then elevating a figure who could manage the state and be more workable for Washington than the current clerical establishment.
The scheme unraveled on day one. An Israeli airstrike aimed at freeing Ahmadinejad from house arrest instead wounded him and killed the Revolutionary Guard members guarding him, officials say. After the near miss, he reportedly soured on the regime-change effort and vanished from public view; his status remains unknown. The episode underscores how the war began with ambitions that went far beyond disabling Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities, despite US claims of limited aims. It also highlights how deeply Israel misread Iran's durability: apart from the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, almost none of the multi-stage plan to collapse the regime and install a new leader came to pass. See the full story at the Times.
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