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Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rejected a report by The New York Times alleging that Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency attempted to recruit him and that he has been placed under house arrest, describing the claims as “completely false.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad’s office accused the newspaper of publishing fabricated information intended to mislead the public and create divisions within Iran.
“We categorically reject all the completely false allegations promoted by The New York Times,” the statement said, adding that the claim that Ahmadinejad was under house arrest was also untrue.
The office said the allegation was designed to support what it described as the newspaper’s “absurd” claims about the former president’s alleged links with Israel.
The denial followed a report published by The New York Times on Monday, which claimed that Mossad had tried in recent years to persuade Ahmadinejad to cooperate with Israel and had considered him a possible figure to lead Iran.
The newspaper, citing American and Iranian officials, reported that Israeli operatives had allegedly met Ahmadinejad during overseas trips, including visits to Budapest, and claimed Israel had secretly provided financial support for his housing and travel.
According to the report, the alleged effort intensified after US and Israeli strikes against Iran’s leadership, with intelligence officials reportedly attempting to remove Ahmadinejad from Tehran as part of a wider plan to influence Iran’s political future.
The newspaper claimed that an Israeli air strike on February 28 targeted a compound linked to Ahmadinejad, damaging a building used by his security team and his armoured vehicle.
It further reported that a black Peugeot arrived after the strike and transported the former president to a secure location inside Iran. Four senior Iranian officials cited by the newspaper alleged that the vehicle was operated by Mossad agents.
Ahmadinejad, who served as Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013, made his first public appearance since the conflict during the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last week.
The former president has remained a prominent but controversial figure in Iranian politics since leaving office, though he has not held a major government position in recent years.
