REPORT: Former Iranian Leader Still Alive, Avoided Assassination Attempt?

Alright, time for a fact check.

The controversial and outspoken former President of Iran — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — was initially reported KILLED.

Israeli strikes on Iran took him out.  That was the story.

His death reportedly came in the same wave of attacks that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

And though Iran never acknowledged his assassination, they didn’t initially own up to Khamenei’s death, either.

If you need a reminder, here’s one of the most controversial moments of his infamous career in Iranian politics…

In which he called for the destruction of America and Israel:

Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

“We must wipe out America and Israel.”

He was eliminated in the U.S.–Israeli opening strike on Iran.pic.twitter.com/4CDE8ayNkf

— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) March 2, 2026

If you remember, what he would say in English for western media was usually quite different compared with what he would routinely say for his domestic audience in Farsi.

There’s also another layer to Ahmadinejad’s story arc.

He has been under house arrest for his lightning rod status among Iranian politics, and it was assumed that he’d been targeted while in his house — again, just like Khamenei.

So when all the western news media started running with stories like this:

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's ex-president who said 'Israel must be wiped off the map,' killed in Israeli airstrikes https://t.co/Pzs1374ZI3 pic.twitter.com/fORzG9ga5Q

— New York Post (@nypost) March 1, 2026

…there wasn’t really any reason to doubt that the man was indeed, dead.

But five days later, unlike the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ahmadinejad’s death is still in question.

Considering Israeli newspapers were running with the headline that the IDF had taken him out…

There was even less reason to doubt his death, as reported by multiple western news media — including the New York Post:

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — a polarizing hardliner who became the face of Tehran’s nuclear defiance and incendiary anti-Israel rhetoric — was reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes at the outset of the military operation inside Iran.

A report by the Israeli media outlet Ma’ariv stated that Ahmadinejad was under house arrest at the time and was killed in a targeted strike on his residence.

There was no immediate confirmation from Iranian authorities.

Ahmadinejad served as Iran’s sixth president from 2005 to 2013, rising from relative obscurity as mayor of Tehran to defeat establishment figure Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a surprise 2005 runoff.

His disputed 2009 reelection triggered the mass “Green Movement” protests, which were violently suppressed by security forces in one of the most serious internal crises of the Islamic Republic.

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Ahmadinejad became especially notorious in the West for his rhetoric toward Israel and his comments about the Holocaust.

His political base was closely aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij militia, which played key roles in consolidating his power and suppressing dissent.

His presidency was also marked by an unusual emphasis on Shiite messianic belief in the return of the Hidden Imam, which critics said blurred the line between theology and statecraft.

Internationally, he forged a high-profile alliance with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, framing their partnership as a united front against U.S. influence. (Emphasis added.)

But then, videos like this started to surface on social media, specifically on X:

🇮🇱🇮🇷⚡️- Despite being claimed dead after assassination strikes by Israel, the former President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, rises from the dead to attend funerals in Iran. pic.twitter.com/StzwDBvuvy

— MonitorX (@MonitorX99800) March 4, 2026

Those were not too hard to debunk.

Though posted to X in the last few days, the clip originated on Instagram at least a full two weeks ago.

Long before Israel and the U.S. kicked off the attack against Iran.

Here’s what I believe is the original from Instagram:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

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A post shared by drahmadinejad (@dr.ahmadinejad.mazandaran)

Yes — that’s him.  And yes — he’s alive.

But that was AT LEAST two weeks before the reported assassination strikes meant to vaporize as many Iranian leaders as possible.

Okay.  Case closed, right?

Not exactly.

There are also a lot of posts like this one, claiming “I’m still alive”:

FORMER IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD:

"I'M STILL ALIVE" pic.twitter.com/l0p2cPS9Xv

— Sprinter Press (@SprinterPress) June 18, 2025

But those all originate from a rumor that he was killed back in June of last year, which did turn out to be false.

Now… this is where it gets interesting.

Firstly, a full FIVE DAYS after he was reportedly killed, the London-based Persian Language News Channel, Iran International, says he’s alive:

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is alive following an assassination attempt, informed sources told Iran International on Tuesday.

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Whizzco

The sources said Ahmadinejad was not harmed and had been moved to a safe place.

Over the weekend, during Israel’s attacks, Iranian media carried conflicting reports about Ahmadinejad’s fate, with some outlets saying he had been killed while others said they could not confirm the claim.

Okay — if that happened to be the only source making that claim, I would probably put it in the “yeah, right” pile.

And forget the whole thing.

Except… there’s this:

@OwenGregorian @sjvsworldtour Behold, the miracle—a man has arisen from the dead, as I predicted:

Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad is alive: Adviser https://t.co/908gyjBcCA

— Phil (@PhilofGreenMtns) March 2, 2026

That post on X is by a very average account, with a lower-than-average following, and an even lower engagement.

But that link takes you to an English language version of Anadolu.

Anadolu is the official Turkish State News Agency.

And they have a story claiming Ahmadinejad is alive, also!

Here’s their headline:

Here’s that report from Anadolu:

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is alive and unharmed as joint US-Israeli attacks target Iran’s senior leadership and military infrastructure, a close aide told Anadolu on Sunday.

“I am in touch with him. All is good,” said the adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“A building related to his security detail was struck yesterday. Three of his bodyguards— members of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) —- have been killed. His own residence remained unaffected and was not targeted 100 meters away from that building,” the source added.

Earlier, Ahmadinejad, who served as Iranian president from 2005 until 2013, was reported killed in an Israeli-US airstrike. (Emphasis added.)

Alright, so the state-run Turkish news says he’s alive, too.

They have a little more of a story to go with their claim, but so what?

I have one more piece of the puzzle.

On Tuesday, the very popular podcast Valuetainment claimed that the former President of Iran — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — was scheduled to appear on their podcast LAST FRIDAY!

And they say exactly the same thing the Turkish news agency, Anadolu, said.

His security detail was taken out, but he survived.

And in fact, he was concerned for his safety and cancelled his appearance on the podcast just hours before the strikes against Iran kicked off.

But give the beginning of this clip a listen — they talk about it in the first couple of minutes.

These guys claim that the ex-President’s “team” gave them an update after the assassination rumors, and they said he was alive in line with the Anadolu report.

Here’s the clip from the Valuetainment podcast on YouTube:

So, what is the verdict?

I’m still not convinced solidly either direction.

But the overlapping details of the story that keeps showing up claiming that he’s still alive makes this question VERY INTRIGUING.

Within the backdrop of a nation of 90 MILLION PEOPLE that is having a serious LEADERSHIP crisis at the moment — the answer to that question could really matter!

Remember, Ahmadinejad is very beloved by many in Iran.

But he fell out of ‘fellowship’ with more recent Presidential administrations, and therefore he was put under house arrest.

He is not the leader the Iranian regime wants.

Nor is he the leader that President Trump would want to put in power — considering he has a history of threatening the U.S. and Israel; the very thing President Trump wanted to bring to an end!

But… could he turn out to be a unifying personality at a time when leadership is scarce, and the hardliners in the regime want desperately to bring control and keep the Iranian people in check?

Who knows.

But the question of whether this polarizing figure in Iranian politics is alive, or dead… is stuck in my head.

I have more of a suspicion that he might actually be alive than I did at the outset of this story.

But all things considered, your guess is as good as mine.

I either need to see a body, or a living breathing Ahmadinejad at this point.

And in the days of AI…?  I still might not be convinced.

If the former President of Iran pops up on the radar, I’ll be sure to bring you that report.

But until then, I’ll have to leave the question of his life or demise in the realm of guesswork and conjecture.

At the moment, that’s still all I have to go on.

You’ll be the first to know if and when that changes.

What’s your take?