Report: U.S., Israel eyed Ahmadinejad as Iran’s leader in regime change plan

The U.S. and Israel may have entered into the war with Iran with a regime change plan in mind that would put Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s former president and a fierce critic of the U.S. and Israel, as a surprising potential successor, The New York Times reported.

U.S. officials briefed on the plan told the Times that Israel developed a multistage regime-change strategy that unexpectedly envisioned Ahmadinejad in power, despite his history of anti-Israeli rhetoric and support of Iran’s nuclear program.

The plan never materialized after Ahmadinejad was injured in the opening days of the conflict. He had been briefed on the plans but became disillusioned after surviving the strikes, the report says.

The initial U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran on Feb. 28 also killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. 

It is unclear how Ahmadinejad was recruited........

© The Hill