Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s former president, has been placed under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after revelations surfaced about a disrupted Israeli plan to position him as an alternative leader to the current theocratic government. The move follows an Israeli airstrike targeting Ahmadinejad’s compound, which forced him into hiding at a Mossad-run safe house.
The New York Times, citing multiple Iranian officials, reported that Ahmadinejad has been confined by the IRGC intelligence unit after resurfacing in public during funeral ceremonies for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The timing coincided with the violent incident that killed Khamenei and targeted Ahmadinejad on the same day.
Prior to these events, Ahmadinejad had not appeared publicly since the early hours of the Israeli operation known as Epic Fury, which struck his residence and triggered his sudden disappearance from the public eye. US and Iranian sources agree he moved to the safe house immediately after the attack.
Ahmadinejad previously governed Iran with strict authoritarian measures from 2005 to 2013 and maintained a controversial profile throughout his political career. The latest developments underline both internal struggles within Iran’s ruling elite and external pressures exerted by Israel in its efforts to influence Tehran’s leadership dynamics.