Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes at the outset of Israel’s military operation inside Iran, according to Israeli and international media reports, though the claims remained unconfirmed and were denied by a close associate.
The Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv reported that Ahmadinejad was under house arrest at the time of the strike and was killed along with bodyguards when his residence was hit in what it described as a targeted attack. Iranian authorities have not issued any official statement confirming his death.
Several media outlets said the reports originated from Iran Labour News Agency. However, the news site itself said the information “cannot be confirmed.”
A close associate of the former president denied the reports, saying, “The news of his martyrdom is false.”
Neither Israel nor Iran has publicly confirmed that Ahmadinejad was killed.
Ahmadinejad served as Iran’s sixth president from 2005 to 2013. He first rose to national prominence after defeating former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a surprise runoff election in 2005, after previously serving as mayor of Tehran.
His 2009 reelection sparked the mass “Green Movement” protests, which were violently suppressed by Iranian security forces and marked one of the most significant internal challenges faced by the Islamic Republic.
During Ahmadinejad’s presidency, the United Nations Security Council imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, deepening the country’s economic isolation.
Ahmadinejad was widely known internationally for his hardline rhetoric toward Israel and repeated statements denying the Holocaust. He took part in a protest titled “The World Without Zionism” and called for the elimination of Israel.
On the 60th anniversary of Israel’s founding, he was quoted as saying: “Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken.”
