In public, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not acknowledged the full nature and magnitude of Iran’s current economic predicament which could undermine the stability of the country and its theocratic regime.

In a recent visit to cities in the northeastern province of North Khorasan, Khamenei, referring to the sharp devaluation of the national currency, the rial, reiterated, “They [enemies] express their joy in a childish way and say that they have managed to create problems for the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic. … Is our situation worse than yours?” 

Further downplaying the current unstable economic situation in Iran, he added, “Your problem is far more complicated than our problem. Your economies have reached a dead end. … The American people are helpless.”

Khamenei has repeatedly praised the “resolve” and “widespread enthusiasm, and exhilaration in Iran’s society.” Increasingly, however, not everyone within the Iranian political and religious circles agrees with that upbeat analysis. Three grand ayatollahs who had been avid supporters of the regime — Makarem Shirazi, Safi Golpayegani, and Shobeiri Zanjani — came together and collectively warned the government in an open letter Oct. 12 posted on their websites: