What they're not telling you: # The US and Israel Allegedly Plotted to Reinstall Iran's Most Virulent Anti-American President The New York Times reported that American and Israeli intelligence officials developed operational plans—codenamed "Roaring Lion" and "Epic Fury"—to install former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back into power, according to briefings given to unnamed US officials. According to the Times account, the scheme emerged in the opening days of what appears to be a recent regional conflict, when President Trump publicly mused that Iran needed "someone from within" to take control. Israeli planners then allegedly identified Ahmadinejad—the same figure Washington had spent two decades denouncing as a hardline, anti-American, anti-Israel extremist—as their preferred successor to manage "Iran's political, social, and military situation." The audacity here is worth underlining: the man the US State Department and Israeli government had characterized as an existential threat was now their chosen instrument.
What the Documents Show
The operational mechanics, as reported, involved an Israeli airstrike on Ahmadinejad's home in Tehran specifically designed to free him from house arrest—a detail that carries its own damning weight. An associate of Ahmadinejad's, cited by the Times, confirmed that the strike occurred on the war's first day. Ahmadinejad survived but was allegedly injured. The plan then allegedly collapsed: disillusioned by the near-miss assassination attempt, Ahmadinejad reportedly abandoned the regime change arrangement. What the mainstream framing obscures is the logical contradiction buried in this narrative.
Follow the Money
The Times presents this as a coherent intelligence operation, but multiple outlets have correctly labeled it "cartoonish." Consider the mechanics: US and Israeli officials would need to coordinate with a man they'd spent years isolating, convince him to accept installation as a puppet ruler, then execute a surgical airstrike designed to "liberate" him from confinement—all while maintaining operational security among multiple governments and intelligence agencies. The story strains credulity on its face. Yet the reported existence of Operations Roaring Lion and Epic Fury—with specific codenames, tactical details, and corroboration from multiple briefed officials—indicates something real occurred, even if the stated objective sounds implausible. Either US and Israeli planners genuinely entertained this scheme, suggesting a catastrophic failure of strategic judgment at senior levels, or they disseminated false information about it to shape narratives around Iranian regime change efforts. Both interpretations are damning. The first reveals incompetence among decision-makers who control nuclear arsenals.
What Else We Know
The second reveals deliberate information warfare against American and international publics. The names behind these operations remain conspicuously absent from the Times reporting. Which Israeli officials authorized Operation Epic Fury? Which CIA or State Department officials signed off on Roaring Lion? The Times cites only "US officials who were briefed on it"—the institutional passive voice that protects individual actors from accountability. This anonymity is structural: it allows the story to circulate while ensuring no named official faces consequences for either attempting a farcical coup or manufacturing false justifications for military action.
Primary Sources
- Source: ZeroHedge
- Category: Government Secrets
- Cross-reference independently — don't take our word for it.
Disclosure: NewsAnarchist aggregates from public records, API feeds (Federal Register, CourtListener, MuckRock, Hacker News), and independent media. AI-assisted synthesis. Always verify primary sources linked above.