Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani warned of the US government’s overt and covert plans to increase pressure on Iran and undermine the economy. Addressing an open session in the chamber Monday, Larijani pointed to recent economic problems in the country and said the mounting difficulties “are partly related to decisions made inside the country and partly rooted in the enemies’ acts of sabotage,” Tasnim News Agency reported. “According to the information we have, the enemies’ intelligence services want to harm the economy under the guise of other activities,” he said without elaboration. He emphasized that it is very important to control the foreign exchange market that has seen unprecedented increase in forex rates over the past several months. “Enemies are seeking to prevent oil exports and banking transactions,” the parliament speaker noted. The remarks came as the national currency plunged to a record low against the US dollar in the unofficial market and was traded for over 110,000 rials on Monday. The systemic decline in the value of the rial started soon after US President Donald Trump in May abandoned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. American authorities have publicly said the new sanctions seek to place “unprecedented economic pressure” on Tehran. President Donald Trump and his senior aides have said they would also impose sanctions on countries that do not cut imports of Iranian oil to “zero” by November 4.
