A report published by The New York Times alleges that former Mossad director David Barnea secretly cultivated ties with former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, viewing him as a possible successor to Iran’s ruling clerical regime.

According to the report, Barnea and Ahmadinejad held covert meetings in Hungary during 2024, using a climate conference at Ludovika University of Public Service as cover for the undisclosed discussions.

The report states that Ahmadinejad’s own security personnel became suspicious after he reportedly disappeared on at least two occasions during the conference for extended periods. When questioned about his whereabouts, he reportedly told them he had been meeting with university professors.

The New York Times, citing former U.S. officials, reported that Barnea personally traveled to Budapest for the meetings. According to the report, Mossad later informed the CIA that contact with Ahmadinejad had been established. The report further claims that Israeli intelligence helped finance portions of Ahmadinejad’s travel and housing expenses and continued meeting with him outside Iran in the years that followed.

The report also alleges that when the war with Iran began, Israel carried out an operation to extract Ahmadinejad and move him to a secure location inside Iran. According to the report, Ahmadinejad was deeply unsettled by the rescue mission and became disillusioned after learning of what was described as an Israeli plan to return him to power. It says he eventually departed the safe house under circumstances that remain unknown.

The report concludes by claiming that Ahmadinejad is now under house arrest by the intelligence arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after Iranian authorities allegedly uncovered much of his reported contact with Israel.

{Matzav.com}