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Hardly a day passes without a claim by the leadership in Tehran that the regime is facing yet another conspiracy. One day, the threat comes from the Kurds who demand autonomy. Another day, it is the Baluch doing mischief in their corner. On yet another day, the bazaar is at the centre of conspiracy. And, what about industrial workers whose fight for independent trade unions indicates a penchant for plotting?

The list is as long as the days in a year.

However, the latest claim, coming from no less a dignitary than Heydar Moslehi, beats previous ones.

The claim, which is the talk of the town in Tehran, has attracted attention for two reasons.

The first is that the man who made it is an ayatollah who heads the Ministry of Intelligence and Security and controls at least some of the Islamic Republic's secret services.

The second reason is the nature of the claim.

Here is what Moslehi says: Foreign missionaries are targeting the best, and the brightest, Shi'ite students of theology, especially in Qom, and have already succeeded in converting some of them to Christianity.