The New York Times, citing American officials, revealed that the first Israeli strike during the war on Iran targeted the home of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as part of a broader plan aimed at bringing about change in the regime and returning it to the political scene. According to the newspaper, the raid that targeted Ahmadinejad's house on the first day of the war was aimed at liberating him from the house arrest imposed on him in Tehran. The newspaper pointed out that the US President and the Israeli Prime Minister entered the war while betting on the possibility of pushing a figure from within the Iranian regime to take power after the killing of Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei and a number of senior officials in the first strikes. According to American officials and a source close to Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president survived the raid that targeted his home, but he lost confidence in the regime change plan after the attack. The newspaper explained that Ahmadinejad has not appeared in public since then, while his whereabouts and condition are still unknown.