Iran leader makes ‘Russia escape plan’ as Trump threatens attack | World | News
Amid massive protest in Iran and a day after American strike on Venezuela, US President Donald Trump warned Iran that it would get “hit very hard” by the United States if more protesters die.
Demonstrations against Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has entered second week.
“We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” Trump told reporters. Earlier on Jan 2, he had taken to Truth Social and said, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Iran’s Response to US Warnings
According to GB News, Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed Trump after his warning. He said any US interference in Iranian protests would lead more turbulence in the region.
Larijani’s remarks came after the US president’s warning indicating that Washington would not keep silent if Tehran used lethal force against peaceful protesters.
Iranians have taken to street to protest against the economic collapse, and are demanding political regime change and personal freedom. Protests began on December 28 when the bazaari (merchant class) closed their shops and took to the streets. The unrest expanded to Ahvaz, Hamadan, Qeshm, and Mashhad. Some videos also show protesters chanting slogans in support of Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is the exiled eldest son of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah.
At least 12 people, including members of the security forces, have been killed since, according to a toll based on official reports. The demonstrations are the most significant in Iran since a 2022-2023 movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.
Khamenei plans to flee Iran
Meanwhile, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has a back-up plan to flee the country should his security forces fail to suppress protests, according to an intelligence report shared with The Times. Beni Sabti, who served for decades in Israeli intelligence after fleeing the regime eight years after the Islamic revolution, said Khamenei would flee to Moscow as “there is no other place for him.”
The 86-year-old leader intends to flee Tehran accompanied by approximately 20 close associates and relatives if he perceives that military and security personnel are defecting or refusing to carry out orders, according to the intelligence.
“The ‘plan B’ is for Khamenei and his very close circle of associates and family, including his son and nominated heir apparent, Mojtaba,” a source told the newspaper.
Beni Sabti, a former Israeli intelligence operative who escaped Iran eight years after the Islamic revolution, said that Moscow represents Mr Khamenei’s only viable destination, noting that he “admires Putin, while the Iranian culture is more similar to the Russian culture.”
Billionaire Iran leader would join Syrian monster al-Assad
The escape strategy mirrors the flight of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who departed Damascus by aircraft for Moscow to reunite with his family before opposition fighters seized the capital in December 2024.
“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 said.
Mr Khamenei controls an extensive financial network, with significant holdings managed through Setad, a powerful semi-state charitable foundation notorious for its opaque finances.
A 2013 Reuters investigation estimated these assets at approximately $95billion (£70.6billion), encompassing properties and businesses under the Supreme Leader’s control.
Several of his senior advisers, including national security council secretary Ali Larijani, have relatives residing overseas in countries such as the United States, Canada and Dubai.
Brutal tactics used against protesters
Economic hardship has sparked widespread demonstrations across Iranian cities over the past week, including in the sacred city of Qom.
Demonstrators have accused anti-riot units comprising the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij militia, police and army of deploying brutal tactics including live ammunition, tear gas and water cannons against protesters.
These forces answer directly to Mr Khamenei, who holds supreme authority over the military, judiciary and media in the Islamic republic.
A Western intelligence agency’s psychological assessment, reviewed by The Times, characterised the Supreme Leader as “paranoid” and noted he has grown “weaker, both mentally and physically” following last year’s 12-day conflict with Israel.
Mr Khamenei has remained largely absent from public view and has not appeared or spoken during the recent unrest.
During the Israeli conflict, he sheltered in a bunker, fuelling what the assessment described as his “obsession with survival.”
