The supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reportedly has an "escape plan" that involves fleeing to Russia if the current nationwide protests continue to intensify, British newspaper The Times reported on Sunday.
The plan, called "Plan B" by the British report, would include 86-year-old Khamenei and 20 close people, including family and aides.
It will also involve a way of taking his vast asset network, which, according to a 2013 Reuters investigation cited by The Times, is valued at about $95 billion, and includes the Setad organization, one of the most powerful organizations in Iran, and the Ayatollah's system of semi-state charitable foundations known for their financial obfuscation.
“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 said, citing intelligence sources.
The report also mentioned that, according to former Israeli intelligence official Beni Sabti, Khamenei would leave for Russia as “there is no other place for him."
Khamenei had previously assured that he “admires Putin, while the Iranian culture is more similar to the Russian culture,” the report noted.
Khamenei's plan emulates al-Assad's escape from Syria
The plan disclosed by The Times seems to be similar to the one used by former Syrian Dictator Bashar al-Assad, who escaped from Syria towards Moscow when the regime fell in November 2024.
Assad is now living in Russian luxury and “brushing up on ophthalmology,” The Guardian reported on December 19, citing sources close to the family.
A friend of the Assad family told The Guardian that “he is studying Russian and brushing up on his ophthalmology again. It’s a passion of his; he obviously doesn’t need the money,” suggesting his target clientele would be Moscow's wealthy elite.
US Farsi account: 'President Trump is a man of action'
As protests continue to spread in Iran, the Trump Administration continues with its "maximum pressure" campaign over the Islamic Republic.
The message by US President Donald Trump about the possibility of dealing with the Iranian regime in a similar way to what he did on Saturday with former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro seemed to influence the protests.
On Sunday, the Farsi account of the US State Department published a picture of President Trump and the message: "President Trump is a man of action. If you didn't know, now you know."
Earlier on Sunday, the same post was made on the US State Department's general account, featuring a picture of Trump alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Trump also told reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One that "if they kill people, as they have done in the past, they will be hit hard by the United States."
Esther Davis contributed to this report.