Iran’s Khamenei has contingency plan to flee to Russia if unrest spirals, report says

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has prepared an emergency plan to leave for Russia if domestic unrest overwhelms security forces, reports say.

British newspaper The Times reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has prepared an emergency plan to leave the country if domestic unrest spirals out of control.

Citing an intelligence assessment, the report said the plan would be triggered if security forces fail to contain protests or show signs of disobedience or internal collapse.

According to the assessment, Khamenei would leave Tehran with a small inner circle of around 20 family members and close aides, including his son Mojtaba Khamenei.

The report said Moscow is viewed as the most likely destination, due to Iran’s close political ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the lack of other secure options.

The Times said the contingency plan was modeled partly on the escape of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia ahead of Damascus’s fall in 2024.

Iran has faced repeated waves of nationwide protests in recent years, driven by economic hardship, high inflation, political repression, and public anger toward the ruling establishment.

Western intelligence and media reports have previously highlighted growing pressure on Iran’s leadership amid sanctions, regional tensions, and internal dissent challenging the system’s stability.

The report also noted that Khamenei controls a vast network of assets inside and outside Iran, some managed through entities such as the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order, with Reuters estimating their value at tens of billions of dollars.

It added that a Western intelligence body assessed Khamenei’s physical and psychological condition as weakened following a recent 12-day conflict with Israel, describing him as increasingly paranoid but tactically pragmatic.

The report comes as protests across Iran enter consecutive days, with rights groups reporting unrest in dozens of cities, hundreds of arrests, and rising casualties, intensifying uncertainty about the country’s political future.

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