Foreign Ministry's Reaction to Former MP's Claim about Qassem Soleimani and FATF

The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry dismissed the claim of a member of the Front of Steadfastness regarding the delivery of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC, to the U.S. if the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations are implemented, calling it "completely false and baseless," "fantastical lies," and "an insult to the intelligence of millions of Iranians." According to the state news agency IRNA, Bahram Qasemi said on Thursday, June 1, that "the door to false accusations and shameless lies is widening every day, and some are deliberately spreading completely false and baseless claims to confuse public opinion and incite division and violence." He accused Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of the Front of Steadfastness and a former MP, of insisting on "fantastical lies" and "endangering national interests based on delusions and slanders, crossing all boundaries of Sharia, fairness, and ethics," and "insulting the intelligence of millions of Iranians." The spokesperson emphasized that the FATF regulations are an international financial mechanism that "has no connection to the extradition of nationals between countries." According to Mr. Qasemi, the extradition of nationals only occurs within the framework of bilateral treaties between countries, and the Islamic Republic of Iran has no such agreement with the U.S. Mahmoud Nabavian, a former MP and a student of Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, claimed in a leaked audio file that Iran's Foreign Minister promised the U.S. that, in exchange for lifting banking sanctions, Qassem Soleimani would be handed over to them. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, called these remarks "shameful" and stated that the Foreign Ministry would sue Mr. Nabavian unless he "officially apologizes and repents." However, hours after these remarks, Mr. Nabavian announced that he did not say the Foreign Ministry made such a commitment, but rather that the result of implementing FATF regulations would be the "handing over of people like Qassem Soleimani and many others" to the U.S. This is despite the fact that in Mr. Nabavian's audio file, he explicitly mentions the Foreign Minister's commitment. Last year, Iranian Central Bank officials reached an agreement with the FATF called the "Action Plan" regarding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism, which immediately faced protests from a group of conservatives in Iran. These conservatives argue that Iran's membership in this group could lead to the cessation of financial support to Hezbollah in Lebanon and other groups currently financially supported by Tehran. At the same time, the deputy commander of the IRGC stated that the purpose of the agreement with the FATF was to "monitor financial flows and leverage for influence" over this institution. In contrast, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, stated in July 2016 regarding negotiations with the FATF that the Islamic Republic would "sacrifice Hezbollah for nothing." Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also stated that this council has reached a "positive conclusion" regarding cooperation with the FATF, and this conclusion will be implemented after the approval of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Mr. Nabavian, when he was a member of the ninth parliament, also made controversial statements regarding the Vienna nuclear agreement. This member of the Front of Steadfastness claimed in 2014, without mentioning the date and place, that Wendy Sherman, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, said that Mohammad Javad Zarif and Abbas Araghchi "had signed" to address Iran's missile activities in the nuclear negotiations. This former MP's claim came at a time when no news about Ms. Sherman's statements had been published in the media. The Supreme National Security Council of Iran filed a complaint against some of Mr. Nabavian's statements regarding the nuclear agreement to the Special Clerical Court, but no report has been published regarding the outcome of this case so far. The parliamentary oversight committee also assessed Mr. Nabavian's statements as "in line with fulfilling representative duties."