Press tv-- Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks on Tuesday in a meeting with a large group of people from Qom, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the January 9, 1978 uprising in the holy city against the despotic monarchical rulers of the time.

“The plot is linked to the Americans and Zionists. They have been hatching the plot for several months to begin from small town and then move to the center. “The money belongs to one of the wealthy Persian Gulf governments,” the Leader said.

The third side, Ayatollah Khamenei added, were the MKO elements, which served as lackeys active on the ground.

Ayatollah Khamenei described the recent wave of violence that hit some areas of the country as “fireworks and vicious acts,” praising the Iranian people's timely and appropriate reaction to the unrest.

“These are not normal incidents. [These incidents] occur nowhere in the world,” the Leader said, in an apparent reference to the people's massive show of support for the establishment.

“It is not a matter of one or two or five years. [It is about] a battle between the nation and those hostile to the nation; a battle between Iran and those hostile to Iran; a battle between Islam and those hostile to Islam,” he stated.