Photo: REUTERS
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has a contingency plan to flee the country if security forces fail to suppress protests or begin to defect, The Times reported, citing intelligence sources.
According to the report, the 86-year-old leader would leave Tehran with a small inner circle of around 20 aides and family members if he concludes that the army and security services are no longer obeying orders or are switching sides. A source told The Times this is a “plan B” for Khamenei and his closest associates, including his son and presumed successor Mojtaba.
Beni Sabti, a former Iranian who later worked for Israeli intelligence, said Khamenei would likely flee to Moscow because “he has nowhere else to go.” He added that Khamenei admires Russian President Vladimir Putin and feels culturally closer to Russia.
The plan was reportedly shaped by the example of Syria’s former leader Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Tehran, who fled Damascus for Moscow in December 2024 shortly before opposition forces entered the Syrian capital. Intelligence sources said preparations include arranging escape routes, transferring assets abroad and stockpiling cash to ensure safe passage.
Iran has been gripped by large-scale anti-government protests since late 2025. The unrest began in Tehran among business owners angered by the economic crisis and the sharp fall of the national currency. In 2025, the Iranian rial lost nearly half its value against the U.S. dollar, while inflation reached 42.5% in December.
Students joined the demonstrations on Dec. 30, with protests spreading to other cities and chants directed against Iran’s religious leadership. As of Jan. 1, 2026, at least seven people had been killed in four cities, according to the Associated Press. The protests have spread to dozens of cities and are the largest since the 2022 unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
U.S. President Donald Trump reacted to Iran’s efforts to suppress the demonstrations, warning that Washington could intervene if authorities open fire on peaceful protesters. “If Iran starts shooting and brutally killing protesters, as it usually does, the United States will come to their aid. We are fully prepared and ready to act,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
