Washington, July 14 -- Israel dedicated years to a clandestine endeavour aimed at developing former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a prospective intelligence asset and a potential head of Iran if a change of regime occurred, according to a report by The New York Times, which cited American, Israeli and Iranian officials familiar with the covert effort.

The reported operation represents a staggering shift in the dynamic between Israel and Ahmadinejad, who, during his tenure as Iran's president from 2005 to 2013, expedited Tehran's nuclear ambitions, frequently demanded Israel's annihilation and denied the Holocaust.

However, behind closed doors, Israeli intelligence operatives reportedly began to perceive the formerly hardline ...