Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has drawn up an evacuation plan from Tehran in case its forces fail to suppress the protests, writes The Times, citing an intelligence report. Over the past week, protests have swept across the country amid the economic crisis.
The 86-year-old Khamenei plans to leave Tehran accompanied by his inner circle, consisting of 20 assistants and family members, if he sees that the army and security forces desert, run over to the side of the protesters or do not follow orders.
"Plan B is for Khamenei and his inner circle, including his son and presumed heir Mojtaba," an intelligence source told the newspaper.
Israeli intelligence spokesman Beni Sabti believes that Khamenei may flee to Moscow because "there is no other place for him." The publication mentions the flight of deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who received asylum in Russia. Many of Khamenei's closest aides, including the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, have relatives abroad, including in the United States, Canada and Dubai, the newspaper also writes.
The intelligence report said Khamenei had "weakened" after last year's 12-day war with Israel. He has hardly been seen in public, including during the last few days of protests. Throughout the war, he took refuge in a bunker.
"On the one hand, he is very ideologically motivated, but on the other, he is pragmatic in his views: he sees a tactical compromise for the sake of a long—term goal. He thinks for the long term," writes The Times.
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