Mossad Director Roman Gofman decided to remove two of the agency’s most senior officials from their posts over a plan to replace Iran’s regime that was never carried out as intended, N12 reported on Thursday.
The officials are the head of the Mossad’s Intelligence Directorate, who entered the position in December, and the head of the agency’s Iran division. Neither official was named in the report.
Security officials told N12 that neither official had developed a good working relationship with Gofman from the outset and that their tenures would end by mutual agreement.
Both could remain in the Mossad in other positions, the officials said, describing the changes as part of a broader reorganization of the intelligence agency.
Nevertheless, N12 linked the moves directly to the regime-change proposal, saying the two officials had conceived and drafted the plan. The report stressed that both had made invaluable contributions to Israel’s security, but said Gofman believed those responsible for the plan should be held accountable after it was presented to US President Donald Trump and was not implemented on the ground.
According to N12, the secret Mossad-CIA proposal called for Kurdish ground forces to enter Iran under extensive Israeli and American air cover. Iranian minorities would then help remove the Islamic Republic’s leadership, allowing alternative Iranian figures to take power.
Ahmadinejad was planned to be next Iranian leader
In May, The New York Times reported that Israel and the US had entered the war with a specific candidate to lead Iran: former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The reported plan to install Ahmadinejad was initially developed by Israel and discussed with the former Iranian leader, according to the report.
American officials and a person close to Ahmadinejad said the operation began to unravel on the first day of the war. As part of an attempt to free him from house arrest, the Israel Air Force reportedly struck his Tehran residence with the intention of killing the guards holding him.
Ahmadinejad survived but was reportedly wounded in the strike. He subsequently began expressing doubts about the plan to topple the regime, according to N12.