Iran places ex-president Ahmadinejad under house arrest

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been placed under house arrest by the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) following the alleged discovery of his extensive contacts with Israeli intelligence, according to a report citing U.S. and Iranian officials. The development caps a years-long, covert Israeli effort to cultivate the former hardline leader as a potential figure in a post-regime Iran, an operation that reportedly included secret meetings, financial support, and a dramatic but failed extraction attempt during the opening of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran earlier this year.

The effort allegedly began in 2024 when Ahmadinejad traveled to Budapest for events at Hungary's Ludovika University of Public Service. According to the report, these academic trips served as cover for clandestine meetings with Israeli operatives. During one visit, then-Mossad director David Barnea personally traveled to Hungary to meet with Ahmadinejad. Israeli intelligence later informed the CIA that contact had been established and reportedly provided financial assistance for the former president's housing and travel over subsequent months.