Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has prepared a contingency plan to flee the country if nationwide protests spiral beyond the control of his security forces, revealing the depth of concern inside the Islamic Republic’s highest ranks as unrest grips the country.

An intelligence report says the 86-year-old cleric would evacuate Tehran with a tightly controlled group of up to 20 aides and family members, including his son and presumed successor Mojtaba Khamenei, if signs emerge that the army, police, or paramilitary forces are deserting, defecting, or refusing orders.

Israeli intelligence veteran Beni Sabti, who fled Iran years after the 1979 revolution, said Khamenei’s likely destination would be Russia, describing Moscow as “the only place” that would guarantee him safety. The model for the escape, the report says, is the flight of deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who escaped to Moscow in late 2024 as his regime collapsed.

The intelligence assessment indicates that preparations include moving cash, securing foreign properties, and coordinating exit routes, supported by Khamenei’s vast financial empire. His holdings are largely concealed within Setad, a powerful network of semi-state foundations estimated in a 2013 Reuters investigation to control assets worth up to $95 billion.

The revelations come as protests driven by economic collapse and soaring inflation spread across Iran, including in religious strongholds such as Qom. Demonstrators accuse the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij militias, and police—forces directly loyal to Khamenei—of using live fire, tear gas, and water cannons to suppress dissent.

While large-scale defections remain rare, the assessment describes Khamenei as “weaker, both mentally and physically” since last year’s 12-day war with Israel, during which he reportedly hid in a bunker. He has been notably absent from public view during the current wave of protests, reinforcing perceptions of a leadership under strain.

Khamenei’s long-standing fixation on survival, shaped by a 1981 assassination attempt that left him permanently injured, now appears to include an exit strategy—one that underscores a growing fear inside Tehran that the regime’s grip may no longer be absolute.

As chants echo through Iran’s streets rejecting foreign entanglements—“No Gaza, no Lebanon, my life for Iran”—the supreme leader’s contingency plan suggests that even at the pinnacle of power, the prospect of collapse is no longer unthinkable.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)