Report: Khamenei has a contingency plan to flee Iran if unrest escalates
The report says Iran's supreme leader prepared an exit plan amid fears security forces could fail
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 desert, according to an intelligence report shared with The Times.
The report says Khamenei, 86, would leave Tehran with a close circle of up to 20 aides and family members if he concludes that the army and security services called on to quell unrest are deserting, defecting, or failing to follow orders. The information was attributed to intelligence sources.
“The ‘plan B’ is for Khamenei and his very close circle of associates and family, including his son and nominated heir apparent, Mojtaba,” according to the report.
The Times reported that the contingency planning was modeled on the escape of Syria’s former leader Bashar al-Assad, who fled Damascus to Moscow in December 2024 as opposition forces advanced on the capital.
“They have plotted an exit route out of Tehran should they feel the need to escape,” the source said, adding that preparations include “gathering assets, properties abroad and cash to facilitate their safe passage.”
According to the report, the plan would involve fleeing to Moscow if unrest in Iran intensifies. Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the report, and the claims could not be independently verified.