Is the Ayatollah fleeing Iran? Euronews looks at the viral rumours

Rumours have been particularly widespread throughout the two weeks of mass protests across Iran. Many of those rumours originate from anonymous users on social media platforms, and are being covered by media outlets, purely for headline purposes.

And although some of these rumours carry an element of truth, they should, at large, be viewed with scepticism and investigated thoroughly for credibility.

This article will look at a few examples of rumours which have galvanised social media users and circulated heavily across the various platforms throughout the last couple of weeks.

On 7 January, anonymous users on social media claimed that gold bars were transferred from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia, without providing any details, alleging that Iranian officials were preparing to flee the country.

The bars were meant to continue funding their ‘lavish’ lifestyles in Moscow, in the event that the protesters were successfully able to topple the theocratic government, whose been in power since 1979.

Tom Tugendhat, a UK lawmaker and former security minister, gave an explanation in Parliament regarding what he called “the Ayatollahs preparing to fight and flee”.

He requested Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to explain reports of the presence of a Russian aircraft in Tehran, which he says is there for “shaping of the security and operational environment”.

He also stated that reports had been published regarding the transfer of Iranian assets to various destinations, using it as an argument to support his hypothesis of an ongoing ouster.

Despite such reports, there is still no evidence to support that gold bars were actually transferred from Iran to Russia, nor has it been confirmed by any independent source.

Some of these reports are based on events that have previously occurred in countries with circumstances similar to Iran, where a “dictator” has fled the country after witnessing protests.

For example, it has been reported that Bashar al-Assad transferred large amounts of money and gold to Russia when he fled Syria, after a surprise rebellion, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled his government in early December 2024.

Furthermore, according to reports, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, took millions of dollars in cash and gold out of the country when he departed on 26 December 1978 during the Islamic Revolution.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, had travelled to Lebanon as part of his regional tours. It was reported that on this trip, he had taken his wife and young child to Beirut, contrary to his usual practice.

This incident sparked a wave of speculation about the Iranian top diplomat’s preparations to flee the country.

Of course, given the current state of relations between Tehran and Beirut and the reception he received in Lebanon, it is unclear whether emigration to Lebanon would be a viable option for him should the regime be overthrown.

Nevertheless, Araghchi returned to Iran after the conclusion of his trip and on Saturday, where he received his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran, and held bilateral talks.

Another piece of news that received a great deal of attention in recent days was the Times' report about Khamenei's escape.

The prestigious UK media outlet had reported in its article that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic would flee to Russia should domestic unrest intensify, to avoid capture.

The report, however, did not provide verifiable details, stating that should the Ayatollah sense a defection within the army, the Revolutionary Guard, or other security forces, he would leave the country for Russia, accompanied by a small circle of his close associates.

Although the report was published by a reputable publication, there is, for the time being at least, no sign of truth to that claim.

Additionally, Khamenei appeared in a speech to his supporters on Friday, where he insisted that he “won’t back down” in the face of protests.

The possibility and speculation that the Iranian leader might make such a decision should protests against the government intensify, seems unlikely.

An anonymous account on the social media platform X, also published a post with an image of Khamenei, claiming he had been wounded while fleeing to the airport.

This post caught the attention of those keen to hear such news. However, the reality is that there is no credible or reliable information to indicate that such an incident did in fact occur.

In recent years, the leaders of Ukraine and Syria, following domestic protests, decided to flee the country and seek refuge in the arms of Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia.

Emmanuel Rastegar, an Iranian-French journalist and writer, claimed on France's Channel 1 broadcaster that the family of the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, are trying to obtain French visas.

According to the journalist, these individuals are attempting to obtain visas for their families through an Iranian-French lawyer in Paris.

He, however, did not provide any details about his claim, citing only the country's hosting of Ruhollah Khomeini – who founded the Islamic Republic – prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution as the reason for choosing France.

This claim comes at a time when France is unlikely to be considered a safe host for senior Iranian officials.

Should a change occur in Iran, and the government is indeed toppled, it is unlikely that the EU member state would host the government leaders with whom it has had numerous problems over the last two decades.

In recent years, Canada has been a favoured destination for the families of Iranian officials, and a number of them, or their family members, have obtained Canadian residency.

However, as to whether Ghalibaf sought a French visa, no credible report has been issued by any French government body or reputable sources to confirm the validity of this claim to date.

A day after the publication of this report, the Media Centre of the Islamic Consultative Assembly described these reports as “fake and false” and slammed “foreign enemies” for exploiting the people's legitimate demands, to incite chaos and unrest.

However, a mere denial by the Iranian parliament is not synonymous with such a report being false, and still requires further investigation and clarification from the relevant authorities.

Although the spread of such rumours may be intended to encourage more protesters to take to the streets, some believe that a review of the protest movement over the past few decades has shown that such policies generally benefit the government and harm the protesters.

For example, during the 2009 protests, although the repressive forces killed many protesters, exaggerated reports about the deaths of certain individuals by some ill-intentioned users caused even some reputable media outlets to republish these stories without careful verification.

After a significant wave of news had formed, Iranian officials published documents showing that those particular reports were false.

This was an event that was likely a scenario fabricated by the government from the outset, with Iranian government officials deliberately creating spreading fake news for the media to process, so that after its falsity was revealed, they could discredit those media outlets publicly.

In this article, Euronews has merely reported on a few rumours that have recently been circulated on social media and in no way endorses them.