The Blogs: Cracks at the top: is Iran’s inner circle trying to flee?

“Anyone who leaves Iran betrays the revolution.” Those were the words of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — a stark warning to dissidents, intellectuals, and anyone tempted by exile. But what if the ones now trying to leave aren’t dissidents, but his own closest advisors?

According to multiple recent reports, Ali Asghar Hejazi — Khamenei’s senior intelligence advisor and a powerful figure within the Islamic Republic’s security apparatus — has entered secret negotiations with Russia to secure an escape route for himself and his family. Russian officials, it is claimed, have offered to guarantee his safe passage out of Iran should the regime collapse or the security situation spiral out of control.

Hejazi is no ordinary official. He stands at the nexus of Iran’s intelligence and security structure, controlling access to Khamenei and overseeing critical internal operations. If even he is seeking an exit strategy, it speaks volumes about the level of fear — and instability — within the regime.

An anonymous source cited by Iran International claims, “Hejazi understands that if this fails, he will be personally targeted. He no longer trusts the internal loyalties.” The Indian outlet The Week likewise reported “secret contacts with Russian intermediaries to plan a secure corridor out of the country in case of regime failure or foreign escalation.”

Power and Paranoia

Since 1979, the Islamic Republic has projected itself as a fortress of ideological discipline, religious devotion, and centralized authority. Hejazi represents that fortress: he is the gatekeeper of intelligence flows, the guardian of internal loyalty, and the embodiment of security-driven governance. If someone like him begins looking for the door, the structure may be shaking.

Iran has long been vulnerable — weighed down by sanctions, inflation, internal unrest, and demographic pressure. Yet the upper echelons of power have largely remained intact, united by shared survival. What’s new is the apparent breach in that elite cohesion.

This would not be the first time a collapsing regime saw its top brass look for personal escape routes. In the dying days of the Soviet Union, party officials began buying property abroad. During the fall of Nazi Germany, Himmler sought negotiations with the Allies. And more recently, facing civil war and isolation, Syria’s Assad regime also turned to Moscow — not only for military protection, but for a lifeline: diplomatic cover, personal security, and physical refuge. That Iran now reportedly seeks the same assistance from the same source is telling.

The Irony of Loyalty

The Islamic Republic has always claimed to be more than just a state — it is, officially, a divine order, protected by the blood of martyrs and the purity of faith. But this episode shows once again that power is managed by people — and people are governed by fear.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently declared that “senior figures in Iran are packing their bags.” Initially dismissed as rhetorical flourish, that claim now appears less far-fetched. Israel’s recent precision strikes against Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure have been described as unprecedented in scope. High-ranking IRGC officials have reportedly been killed. In such a context, “flight” is no longer abstract — it is a survival mechanism.

Hejazi’s reported outreach to Russia may reflect more than fear. It may signal a growing belief, even among insiders, that the regime is no longer sustainable. This kind of shift rarely begins in the streets — it begins in the palaces.

Hope and Hazard

It’s tempting to read all this as the beginning of the end. But regimes under pressure often lash out before they fall. Repression increases, surveillance tightens, and internal enemies are hunted. The recent waves of arrests — targeting women, students, ethnic minorities — may be less about control than about panic.

Yet the fact that even the loyalists are looking for a way out also offers a sliver of hope. If one high-ranking official breaks ranks, others may follow. The myth of invincibility erodes from within. This is how brittle systems collapse — not through one decisive blow, but through thousands of small fractures.

Conclusion

Whether or not Ali Asghar Hejazi is actually boarding a plane tomorrow may remain unclear for now. But the mere fact that such reports exist — from multiple, independent outlets — tells us something crucial: the fear at the top is real. And when the men who once built the walls start looking for doors, it may no longer be a question of if the regime will fall — but when, and at what cost.

Selected Sources