ALBAWABA - Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is planning to escape from Tehran to Moscow if protests continue to heat up, following the footsteps of Bashar Assad, The Times reported on Sunday.
Khamenei's "plan B" is to leave for Russia along with 20 aides and his family if protests intensify and security forces fail to suppress the protesters, The Times reported, citing an intelligence source.
"The 'plan B' is for Khamenei and his very close circle of associates and family, including his son and nominated heir apparent, Mojtaba," The Times wrote in its report.
It is worth mentioning that the ousted president of Syria left Damascus for Moscow with his family after the fall of the regime in Syria on Dec. 8, 2024. Reports nowadays say that Khamenei will do the same if the protests go out of control or if the regime falls in Iran.
This grab taken on January 2, 2026, from UGC images posted on social media on December 31, 2025, shows protestors attacking a government building in Fasa, in southern Iran on December 31, amidst spontaneous nationwide protests driven by dissatisfaction at the country's economic stagnation. AFP PHOTO / UGC / ANONYMOUS
Protests started in Iran nine days ago due to the harsh and deteriorating economic situation in the country and the sharp fall of the Iranian rial in the face of the U.S. dollar. At least 19 protesters and a security force member were killed as of Sunday, HRANA reported.
Protests have spread to 222 locations nationwide, with protesters roaming the streets of 78 cities across 26 provinces and were met with force to suppress them as a large number of security forces were deployed to several cities.
"They have plotted an exit route out of Tehran should they feel the need to escape," which includes "gathering assets, properties abroad and cash to facilitate their safe passage," the source told The Times newspaper.
