The rumors were particularly widespread during two weeks of massive protests across Iran. Many of these rumors originate from anonymous users on social media platforms and are reported by media outlets, purely for headline purposes.
While there are elements of truth in some of these rumors, they are generally viewed with skepticism and should be thoroughly investigated for credibility.
In this article, we will highlight some examples of rumors that have excited social media users and spread widely across various platforms over the past few weeks.
“Transfer of gold bullion to Russia”
On January 7, anonymous users on social media claimed, without providing details, that gold bullion had been transferred from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia and that Iranian officials were preparing to flee the country.
Barr intended to continue funding a “luxury” life in Moscow if the protesters succeeded in overthrowing the theocratic government in power since 1979.
Tom Tugendhat, a British lawmaker and former security minister, described in parliament what he called “the Ayatollahs preparing to fight or flee.”
He asked Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to explain reports that Russian aircraft were present in Tehran for “security and shaping the operational environment”.
He also said reports had been released on the transfer of Iranian assets to various destinations, which he used as an argument to support his hypothesis that an expulsion was underway.
Despite these reports, there is still no evidence that the gold was actually transferred from Iran to Russia, nor has it been confirmed by independent sources.
Some of these reports are based on past events in countries with similar conditions to Iran, where the “dictator” fled the country after witnessing protests.
For example, Bashar al-Assad reportedly transferred large amounts of gold and gold to Russia when he fled Syria after his regime was overthrown by a sudden revolt led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in early December 2024.
Additionally, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, reportedly took millions of dollars in cash and gold out of the country when he left the country on December 26, 1978 during the Islamic Revolution.
“Abbas Araghchi fled to Lebanon with his family.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was visiting Lebanon as part of a regional tour. It was reported that on this trip, contrary to his usual schedule, he took his wife and young child to Beirut.
The incident sparked a wave of speculation that Iran’s top diplomat was preparing to flee the country.
Of course, given the current state of relations between Tehran and Beirut and the reception he has received in Lebanon, it is unclear whether moving to Lebanon would be a viable option for him if the regime is overthrown.
Nevertheless, Araghchi returned to Iran after the end of his visit and hosted his Omani counterpart Saeed Badr Hamad al-Busaidi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran on Saturday for bilateral talks.
“Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is ready to flee to Russia”
Another piece of news that received a lot of attention in recent days was the Times’ report on Khamenei’s escape.
Reputable British media reported in an article that the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader would flee to Russia to avoid detention if unrest in the country escalated.
But the report does not provide verifiable details, saying that if the Ayatollah senses defections within the military, Revolutionary Guards or other security forces, he will leave for Russia with a small entourage.
Although the report was published by a reputable publication, there is no indication, at least so far, that the claims are true.
Additionally, Khamenei appeared in a speech to supporters on Friday, insisting that he would “not back down” in the face of protests.
It is unlikely that Iranian leaders would make such a decision or speculate if protests against the government intensify.
An anonymous account on social media platform X also published a post with an image of Khamenei, claiming that he was injured while fleeing to the airport.
This post caught the attention of people who wanted to know such news. However, in reality, there is no reliable information indicating that such an incident actually occurred.
In recent years, the leaders of Ukraine and Syria have decided to flee the country and seek refuge in the arms of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the wake of domestic protests.
“Ghalibaf’s family is seeking a French visa.”
Emmanuel Rastegar, an Iranian-French journalist and author, claimed on France’s Channel 1 that the family of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, head of the Islamic Consultative Council, is trying to obtain a French visa.
According to journalists, these people are trying to obtain visas for their families through Iranian-French lawyers in Paris.
However, he chose France only because the country accepted Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic before the 1979 revolution, without going into details of his argument.
The claim comes as France is unlikely to be considered a safe host country for senior Iranian officials.
If changes occur in Iran and the government is indeed overthrown, it is unlikely that EU member states will accept a government leader with whom they have had so many problems over the past two decades.
In recent years, Canada has become a popular destination for families of Iranian officials, and many Iranian officials or their families have obtained Canadian residency.
However, to date, no reliable report has been published by any French government agency or reliable source confirming the validity of this claim as to whether Mr. Ghalibaf has applied for a French visa.
A day after the report was published, the Islamic Consultative Council’s media center described the reports as “false and false” and accused “foreign enemies” of exploiting the people’s legitimate demands to sow chaos and unrest.
However, mere denial by the Iranian parliament does not mean that such reports are false, and further investigation and clarification by the relevant authorities is still required.
Will the rumors work in favor of the protests or against them?
While the spread of such rumors may be intended to encourage more protesters to take to the streets, some believe that a review of past decades of protest movements shows that such policies generally benefit the government and harm protesters.
For example, during the 2009 protests, even though many protesters were killed by repressive forces, exaggerated reports about the deaths of certain individuals by some malicious users caused even some reputable news organizations to republish these articles without careful verification.
After a major news wave formed, Iranian authorities released documents showing that those particular reports were false.
This was likely a scenario concocted by the government from the beginning, in which Iranian government officials deliberately created fake news to be disseminated for the media to process, and then to publicly discredit the media once the falsehoods were exposed.
In this article, Euronews has only reported on some rumors that have been circulating on social media recently and does not endorse them in any way.