(MENAFN) Iran’s intelligence chief has charged that the United States and Israel are scheming to assassinate Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a bid to destabilize Iran, according to a news agency.

The report states that Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib declared on Saturday that “the enemy seeks to target the supreme leader, sometimes with assassination attempts, sometimes with hostile attacks,” explicitly referring to the US and Israel.

It remains uncertain if the minister was pointing to a particular scheme.

Public warnings about threats to Khamenei’s life had been uncommon until the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in June.

During that period, Israeli airstrikes killed several senior Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists before a US-mediated ceasefire took effect on June 24.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had directed the strikes to prevent Iran from advancing nuclear weapons capabilities, a campaign supported by Washington, which participated in Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites on June 22.

Tehran, which denies pursuing a nuclear bomb, condemned the assaults as unprovoked.

Khatib also reportedly cautioned that “those who act in this direction, knowingly or unknowingly, are the infiltrating agents of the enemy.”

He further claimed that Israel is contending with “an epidemic of infiltration and espionage for Iran within its own institutions,” pointing to the recent detention of an Israeli Air Force officer accused of spying for Tehran.

Khatib asserted that Iran had acquired confidential nuclear intelligence along with other highly classified security materials.

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