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Monday, January 5, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 5, 2026
Khamenei plans to flee to Moscow if security forces fail to quell protests — report
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A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him addressing a meeting with students in Tehran on November 3, 2025. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will escape to Moscow if his regime collapses, an intelligence report shared with The Times says.
Khamenei, 86, will flee Tehran with his aides and family members if his security forces fail to halt the growing demonstrations or desert his side amid the unrest, the report says.
“The ‘plan B’ is for Khamenei and his very close circle of associates and family, including his son and nominated heir apparent, Mojtaba,” an intelligence source tells the British newspaper.
In December 2024, then-Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, an ally of both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Khamenei, fled a rebel takeover to Moscow.
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