According to the Anadolu Agency, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, a New York Times report reveals one of the most daring political gambles of the recent US-Israeli war with Iran: a plan to overthrow Iran’s government and install former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
After American and Israeli missiles assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28, US officials told the newspaper that the proposal emerged in the chaotic early days of the conflict. Secretly, Israeli strategists with Washington’s consent felt Ahmadinejad could lead Tehran’s post-war administration.
The idea was contradictory. While president from 2005 until 2013, Ahmadinejad was known for his anti-American and anti-Israeli statements.
His earlier demands to “wipe Israel off the map,” support for Iran’s nuclear program, and ruthless suppression of opposition at home made him a “unusual choice,” according to The Times.
Still, officials told the Times the White House was pragmatic about the idea. Early in the war, President Donald Trump reportedly said “someone from within” would be simpler to stabilise Iran than an outsider.
But the idea unravelled swiftly.
Officials reported Ahmadinejad was injured in an Israeli strike on his Tehran home on the war’s first day to rescue him from house arrest. His whereabouts and medical condition are unknown, according to the newspaper.
The disclosures increase scrutiny of Washington and Israel’s military strategy. The Times reported that the policy assumed Iran’s political system would fall rapidly under military pressure, which never happened.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the newspaper, ‘From the outset, President Trump was clear about his goals for Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles, dismantle their production facilities, sink their navy and weaken their proxy.’
The US military achieved its goals, and now our neighbours are trying to reach a solution to permanently disable Iran’s nuclear program.
This narrative important now not only because of the mysterious scheme, but also because it shows how far major nations were willing to go to influence Iran’s destiny and how swiftly those calculations collapsed when war broke out…….See More
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