US and Israel planned to install Ahmadinejad after Iran war began

The United States and Israel entered the February 2026 war against Iran with a secret plan to elevate former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the country's new leader following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a New York Times The New York Times Company ↗ 4.26% report published on May 19 citing US officials.nytimes

The revelation exposes the full scope of the regime-change ambitions underlying Operation Epic Fury, the US military campaign, and Israel's Operation Roaring Lion, which began with massive airstrikes on February 28, 2026.thesoufancenter+1

A Plan That Collapsed on Day One

The Israeli-developed strategy envisioned a multistage collapse of the Iranian government, beginning with the aerial campaign that killed Khamenei and other top officials. Ahmadinejad, who served as Iran's president from 2005 to 2013 and was known for calling to "wipe Israel off the map," had been consulted about the plan, according to the Times report.i24news+1

On the first day of the war, an Israeli airstrike targeted Ahmadinejad's residence in Tehran — not to kill him, but to eliminate the Revolutionary Guard members who were both guarding and confining him under a form of house arrest. The former president, who had been barred three times from running for office again by Iran's Guardian Council, survived the strike but lost faith in the initiative after the close call.nytimes

His current location and condition remain uncertain, as he has not made any public appearances since the war began.nytimes

Regime Change Unraveled

The broader strategy quickly fell apart. Israel had assessed that after the strikes and a planned Kurdish mobilization — which never materialized — Iran's regime would be sufficiently destabilized to collapse under political pressure, allowing an alternative government to take charge. Instead, Iran's political system proved more resilient than anticipated. Within days of Khamenei's death, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced that a new governing council "has begun its work," and the regime replaced Khamenei with his son Mojtaba Khamenei.aljazeera+2

Iran's response to the strikes was also far more expansive than expected, with coordinated missile and drone attacks targeting not only Israel but US bases across Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.understandingwar+1

An Unlikely Choice

The selection of Ahmadinejad as a potential successor underscored the unusual calculations behind the war plan. President Trump had speculated publicly that it would be ideal if "someone from within" Iran assumed control, but the choice of a figure defined by his hostility toward both Washington and Tel Aviv raised questions about the plan's coherence from the outset. Ahmadinejad has since distanced himself from the initiative.youtube+1