Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is under house arrest after Iranian authorities uncovered a significant portion of his contacts with Israel, reported on Monday. The move puts a former Iranian president under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence arm.
That report ties the detention to a long-running covert effort involving Israel, including an alleged plan to recruit Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset and later install him as Iran’s leader. The account also says Ahmadinejad was not seen again until Ali Khamenei’s funeral after he left a secret safe house.
Budapest meeting and secret contacts
In early 2024, a senior Hungarian government official asked Gergely Deli to invite Ahmadinejad to a climate change conference in Budapest. Deli, who is rector of the Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest, said he was told the conference would serve as cover for secret talks between Ahmadinejad and Israeli intelligence officials. He said: "you have two enemies, and if these enemies want to talk with each other, then it’s best to do what you can to make them talk."
Former American officials said David Barnea personally traveled to Budapest to meet with Ahmadinejad. also reported that Israeli agents met with Ali Akbar Javanfekr several more times before the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion, and that Israel later made several secret payments to Javanfekr.
February airstrike and safe house
In February, Ahmadinejad’s home compound was hit by an Israeli airstrike targeting his bodyguards and armored car. After the February airstrike, Mossad operatives took Ahmadinejad to a secret safe house, where he stayed before later leaving for reasons the report did not explain.
That sequence places the house arrest inside a broader security response by Iran to alleged contacts that crossed from conversation into covert political and intelligence activity. It also explains why Ahmadinejad’s reappearance at Ali Khamenei’s funeral drew attention from Iranian officials watching his movements.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard response
Senior Iranian officials said Ahmadinejad has been taken into custody by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence wing and placed under house arrest. Abdolreza Davari said Ahmadinejad would not have worked with Israel for money, while an associate said Ahmadinejad had spoken about ambitions to become Iran’s new ruler with the help of foreign powers.
That associate also said Ahmadinejad stated that, if he returned to power, he would normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords. The immediate consequence is tighter control over Ahmadinejad’s movements inside Iran, while the report’s unanswered point is the specific evidence Iranian authorities say they uncovered from his contacts with Israel.
