Iran Leader Urges Intelligence Forces’ Vigilance against Hostile Plots

“We are in a major battlefield … against a wide and powerful front of enemies,” the Leader said in a meeting with a group of Iranian Intelligence Ministry officials on Wednesday.

“Despite having great facilities, hostile intelligence services have failed to commit any important mistake. However, if we show negligence we will be defeated,” he said, according to a transcript of his speech posted on Leader.ir.

Ayatollah Khamenei said hostile powers employ sophisticated tactics to damage Iran, including relentless efforts to manipulate the calculations of Iranian officials, weaken religious beliefs of the Iranian people, create economic problems and foment security chaos inside the country.

The Intelligence Ministry should work harder to analyse information correctly to be able to forecast future problems and take pre-emptive measures to disrupt ploys, the Leader said.

Pointing to recent plunge in the value of rial that put great strain on Iran’s currency market, Ayatollah Khamenei said the hand of foreign intelligence services was evident in the instability.

Last week, Iranians saw a record decline in the rial’s value on the free market, with the Iranian currency losing close to half of its value since September.

The Iranian officials described the sudden plunge in the value of rial as unnatural, suggesting it could be caused by an economic plot hatched by the US and its allies.