KHAMENEI PREPARING TO FLEE

The London Times reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is making plans to flee to Russia if protests against his misrule continue:

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has a back-up plan to flee the country should his security forces fail to suppress protests or desert, according to an intelligence report shared with The Times.

Khamenei, 86, plans to escape Tehran with a close circle of up to 20 aides and family, should he see that the army and security called on to quell the unrest are deserting, defecting or failing to follow orders.

Which is how unpopular dictatorships collapse. Fleeing to Russia, of course, is what Bashar al-Assad did. And Khamenei is a fan of Vladimir Putin:

Khamenei also “admires Putin, while the Iranian culture is more similar to the Russian culture”.

Dictators generally admire one another. They have a lot in common. 

Khamenei reportedly has been stashing assets outside of Iran:

“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.

Khamenei is known to hold a major network of assets, some under one of the most powerful organisations in Iran, Setad — part of a system of semi-state charitable foundations known for their financial obfuscation. Estimates put the total holdings at $95 billion, according to a Reuters investigation in 2013, including properties and companies, all held and controlled by Khamenei.

These preparations predate the Trump administration’s arrest of Nicolas Maduro. If Maduro’s apprehension motivates Iranians to continue their protests, and if it causes the mullahs and–more important–their security forces to think the handwriting is on the wall, the regime’s collapse could come sooner than anyone expects. 

We will see.