Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his administration is coming under attack because of his fight against monopoly control, Press TV reported.
"A closed circle that has tried to turn the clock back during the past four years, are now doing all they can to realize their goal ahead of the elections," Ahmadinejad told a group of supporters in Tehran on Tuesday.
"They want a small group to take up the country's leading posts and create a monopoly over them... That is what all these lies, insults and accusations are all about," he added.
Ahmadinejad's comments came as his three election rivals, Mohsen Rezaei, Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Moussavi stepped up criticism of the president's economic performance and his approach to foreign policy.
In recent remarks, Rezaei attacked Ahmadinejad for commenting on the Holocaust, while Moussavi and Karroubi criticized the president's economic agenda and its 'inflationary' effects.
Iran will hold its tenth presidential election on June 12.
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