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Conflict & Security28 outlets ran this5 min read

Mossad dismisses two officials after Iran regime-change plan fails

Roman Gofman removed the heads of Mossad’s intelligence directorate and Iran division over a joint US-Israel operation that did not advance

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Mossad dismisses two officials after Iran regime-change plan fails

What this story says

  • Mossad director Roman Gofman dismissed the heads of the agency’s intelligence directorate and Iran division, both appointed in December 2025.
  • The plan to topple Iran’s government was developed in coordination with the United States and included support for opposition groups under joint military air cover.
  • Channel 12 reported the plan either failed or never reached the operational stage, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the US and Israel of plotting a 48-hour takeover.
  • The dismissals follow broader restructuring within Mossad, with the two officials reportedly remaining in the agency in other roles.

Who covered it

Left 21%(4)Centre 16%(3)Right 63%(12)

Percentages are shares of the 19 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 9 of the 28 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

52/100

Craft

77/100

Hype

35/100

28 sources · methodology

Thin on the left so far

Only 4 of the 19 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Roman Gofman, director of Israel’s Mossad, dismissed two senior officials after a plan to topple Iran’s government either failed or did not advance beyond its initial phase. The officials were the head of Mossad’s intelligence directorate, appointed in December 2025, and the head of its Iran division. Neither was named in the reports.

The plan, as reported by Israel’s Channel 12, was developed in coordination with the United States. It included support for opposition groups inside Iran, backed by joint Israeli-US military air cover. Channel 12 cited intelligence assessments stating the proposal either failed or never reached the operational stage. International reports suggested it included scenarios for replacing Iran’s leadership and coordinating with US officials on a post-regime phase.

Sources told Channel 12 the two officials had been at odds with Gofman from the outset. Their dismissals were described as part of a broader restructuring of Mossad’s leadership and priorities, particularly regarding Iran. Both officials are expected to remain in the agency in other roles.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian later accused the US and Israel of plotting to take control of Iran within 48 hours. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied any recent US contact or discussions regarding the Strait of Hormuz, as reported by Aajtak and TV9 Marathi.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mentioned Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s accusation that the US and Israel plotted a 48-hour takeover of Iran. None of the centre-rated digests carried the Kurdish uprising scenario or the Ahmadinejad recruitment effort reported by the left-rated outlets.

Tags:#IranRegimeChange#Mossad#USIsraelCoordination#MiddleEastConflict#IntelligenceDismissals

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 7 Aug 2026, 19:30, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

4 rated outlets

  • The four left-rated reports led on the plan’s ambition and its collapse. in.gr described the proposal as a "written plan for the removal of Iran’s leadership" that envisioned backing Kurdish forces to spark a nationwide uprising. It quoted Channel 12 and Haaretz reporting that the plan included Israeli airstrikes on Revolutionary Guard positions along the Iran-Iraq border to open a path for Kurdish fighters.
  • in.gr also reported that the plan included installing former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as leader, citing New York Times reports of a Mossad recruitment effort. Middle East Eye and The Cradle carried the same framing: the plan’s scale, its reliance on US coordination, and its failure. Haaretz’s digest noted that one source criticised Gofman’s decision, saying he had been a key supporter of regime change.

Centre

3 rated outlets

  • The three centre-rated reports focused on the dismissals as an internal Mossad matter. Live Mint led with the fact of the dismissals and the identities of the two officials, citing Anadolu Agency and Channel 12. It reported that the plan was shelved and those involved were held accountable, without detailing the plan’s content or the US role.
  • Jerusalem Post and Worthy Christian News carried the same framing: the dismissals as a leadership shake-up following an unsuccessful plan. None of the centre-rated digests mentioned the Kurdish uprising scenario, Ahmadinejad’s role, or Pezeshkian’s accusation of a 48-hour takeover plot.

Right

12 rated outlets

  • The 11 right-rated digests led on the dismissals as a response to operational failure. WIN and Arutz Sheva reported that the plan had been submitted for high-level review, including formal presentations to US President Donald Trump. The Straits Times and India Today framed the story as part of a deepening covert conflict, with Iran ramping up its spy network and announcing fresh alleged Mossad arrests.
  • None of the right-rated digests mentioned the Kurdish uprising scenario, the Ahmadinejad recruitment effort, or the plan’s reliance on joint military air cover. la Nacion and Observador led on Mossad’s broader intelligence efforts, including tracking Iran’s new supreme leader, rather than the failed regime-change plan.

Read it at the source

28 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

4

Centre

3

Right

12
Show 4 more

Not rated

9
Show 1 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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Mossad dismisses two officials over failed Iran regime-change plan | MediaBias News