(Bloomberg) -- Foreign intelligence services have played a role in fueling Iran's currency crisis in an effort to destabilize the economy, according to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Enemies of Iran are waging a war against the country, Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying. He didn't refer to any country in particular.
“When we look carefully at recent issues in the currency market, the footprints of foreign intelligence is evident,” Khamenei was cited as saying in a Wednesday meeting with officials of the Ministry of Intelligence.
Iran unified its exchange rates for the rial last week as part of urgent measures to contain a crisis that saw the currency slump to series of record lows against the U.S. dollar in unregulated trading. The rial has weakened as the Trump administration nears a May 12 deadline to stay in or withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal that removed most sanctions on Iran's economy, and amid political feuding at home.
Last week, central bank governor Valiollah Seif accused regional foes Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates of playing a role in the currency drop.
--With assistance from Ladane Nasseri
To contact the reporter on this story: Golnar Motevalli in Tehran at gmotevalli@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
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