The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who clamoured for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” died on Saturday as the U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes on the Islamic state.

The New York Post attributed the news of Mr Ahmadinejad’s demise to an Israeli media outlet, Ma’ariv, which said Tel Aviv targeted the Narmak residence of the former Iranian president, given that he was already on house arrest.

Mr Ahmadinejad was the president of the Islamic Republic between 2005 and 2013 and never hid his disdain for the Jewish nation, which he believed shouldn’t exist alongside Iran. His tenure was marred by skyrocketing inflation and a brutal crackdown on protesters that led to the death of hundreds.

Iranians protested against his second-term presidential victory in an election they claimed was rigged with the help of now-deceased supreme leader Ali Khamenei, also killed by Israeli missiles with the help of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Messrs Ahmadinejad and Khamenei fell out after the former president’s second term. This led to the disqualification of Mr Ahmadinejad’s presidential candidacy in 2017, 2021, and 2024.