Expert Thinks Iran's New Ayatollah Could Be Dead, Says Top Regime Leaders Might Flee to Russia
A Middle East expert says that Iran is teetering on the brink and believes Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei could be dead.
Middle East expert Saeid Golkar said that the collapse could trigger a flight of senior leaders to Russia for shelter, according to Fox News.
Multiple reports have said that Mojtaba Khamenei, who became Supreme Leader after the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in the opening round of Operation Epic Fury’s attacks, was severely wounded in the attack that killed his father. Mojtaba Khamenei has avoided the public eye, lending credence to rumors he was seriously wounded or disfigured in the attack, and may not be a force in the nation’s government.
Mojtaba Khamenei is “either dead or in bad condition that he cannot send any video or voice message,” Golkar, a senior adviser at United Against Nuclear Iran, said.
“If he had died from his injuries, there was no clear natural successor. He was the continuation of the regime,” he said.
“Still, the system was designed for continuity during a crisis,” Golkar added.
Iran’s leadership structure was designed to “make sure the regime could survive even if formal institutions were damaged, leaders were killed, or civilian government stopped functioning,” he said.
“I would describe it as a regime designed not just to govern, but always to try and survive decapitation,” Golkar said.
Survival could mean leaving Iran, he said, much like former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia in 2024.
“If the situation deteriorates further, some senior figures could potentially follow a path like Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle and seek refuge in Russia,” Golkar said.
“For the most senior figures, Russia would probably be the most likely destination, again as we saw with Bashar al-Assad,” Golkar said, noting that Iranian leaders have already moved their private wealth to “financial networks outside Iran.”
Golkar said fleeing the country would preserve the lives of senior leaders, but end their power.
“Inside the regime’s ideological culture, leaving the country during the collapse would look like desertion,” Golkar said.
In a “60 Minutes” interview released Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he believes the Supreme Leader is alive, but has limited power.
“If you ask me what his condition is, first of all, if you ask me his– if he’s alive, I think he is alive. What his condition is, it’s hard to say, you know? He’s holed up in some bunker or in some– secret place,” Netanyahu said.
“I don’t think he has the same authority that the– his father, the Ayatollah Khamenei, had. I don’t think so. That’s also creating the– the disruptions in that regime. And I– I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but I think the real question is not — not so much what they do. It’s what we do,” he said.
“You know, do we keep them in check? Do we keep up the pressure? And I think the answer is we should and we are. And President Trump has been leading this effort, I think quite– in quite unexpected ways, the blockade on them, when they were blockading the Gulf, has actually turned the tables on them. And– but– you know, it’s an ongoing thing.”
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