Two senior officials of Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad have been removed following their involvement in developing a failed regime‑change strategy targeting Iran, according to Israeli media reports.

The dismissals were carried out by Mossad Director Roman Gofman as part of a broader organisational restructuring within the agency.

One of the officials had been serving as head of Mossad’s intelligence directorate since December, while the other was leading the agency’s Iran division. Both were reportedly key architects of a written operational plan that sought to undermine Iran’s Islamic Republic by supporting minority groups and encouraging mass protests against the government.

The plan was discussed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while attempting to persuade US President Donald Trump to launch military action against Iran in February. Security sources cited by Channel 12 said the two officials had longstanding disagreements with Gofman, but their departures were described as mutual and part of a wider restructuring. Both are expected to continue serving in other roles within Mossad.

Reports indicated that the Mossad strategy involved Israeli strikes on positions of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps near the border with Iraq, particularly in Iranian Kurdistan.

The strikes were intended to create opportunities for Kurdish fighters to enter Iran and advance towards Kurdish‑majority areas in the northwest. The expectation was that thousands of young Kurds would join armed groups, potentially expanding the movement into a broader uprising reaching Tehran.

The strategy also aimed to encourage a larger protest movement that could weaken the Iranian government. Remarkably, the plan reportedly included the possibility of installing former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the country’s leader.

The New York Times reported that Israel had undertaken a multi‑year effort to establish contact with Ahmadinejad, including an alleged meeting with then‑Mossad chief David Barnea at an academic conference in Hungary.

During the recent conflict, Israel and the United States carried out extensive strikes against Iranian security infrastructure, including regime targets, military facilities, missile systems, police stations and Basij positions in north-western Iran. However, diplomatic pressure from Turkey and concerns among Kurdish groups themselves contributed to Washington abandoning the reported plan.

The broader objective of the strategy was not only to weaken Iran’s military capabilities but also to reduce threats linked to Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

A New York Times report in April quoted US officials as saying that some members of the Trump administration supported the belief that Iran’s leadership could be removed and its military significantly weakened. Yet senior officials later dismissed Netanyahu’s prediction of regime change as “farcical” and “bulls***,” underscoring the divisions within Washington over the feasibility of such an operation.

ANI