Hadad Adel Refers to Currency Restrictions for IRGC: Leader Will Not Tolerate This Humiliation

Gholamali Hadad Adel, senior advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and member of the Expediency Discernment Council, reacted to the "currency restrictions" imposed on institutions affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by some state banks in Iran, stating that "the people and the leadership will not tolerate such humiliations, interventions, and submissions." On Sunday, September 14, he told the Fars News Agency that "such restrictions are certainly not enforceable." Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to the Supreme Leader on international affairs, also deemed Iran's cooperation with the International Anti-Money Laundering Organization as "not in the country's interest." According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Velayati warned on the same day, after meeting with Stephen O'Brien, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, that "insiders should not follow the enemies' plans." The advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei stated that "the reason for the sanctions against the Khatam and Quds headquarters is that they are taking steps to confront the enemies of Islam" and added, "We must fight against such restrictions rather than comply with them." Previously, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly had also mentioned that the Attorney General has "intervened and is investigating the matter." The statements from the two advisors to the Supreme Leader on international affairs come after reports about the "currency sanctions" against the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters of the IRGC and some other institutions by at least two banks, Mellat and Sepah. Abdollah Ghanji, the editor-in-chief of the Javan newspaper, which is close to the IRGC, wrote on his Telegram channel that the Sepah and Mellat banks have limited their services to the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters of the IRGC. The Kayhan newspaper also reported on September 13 that the government of Hassan Rouhani, in a secret agreement with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), accepted to sanction all individuals and entities sanctioned by the UN within Iran and to freeze their assets. According to this newspaper, Mellat Bank stated in response to a request from the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters, affiliated with the IRGC, that "the processing of all currency services (international) for those customers whose names are on the EU sanctions list or the joint EU and UN sanctions list is not possible." Kayhan added that Sepah Bank also stated in response to a request from a company for providing currency guarantees that "under the current circumstances and in light of the contents of the returned letter indicating the applicant's mention in the sanctions list, it is not possible to comply with the applicant's request." This newspaper referred to this action by Iranian banks as "self-sanctioning" and linked it to the implementation of FATF regulations, concluding that Iranian banks will not provide services to 200 other entities sanctioned by the EU and the UN, including the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the Ministry of Defense, the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters, and the Ministry of Intelligence. On June 24, 2016, the FATF announced that the restrictions on the monetary and financial system of this institution on Iran's banking system would be suspended for 12 months. This announcement and the 12-month opportunity for Iran came after officials from the Central Bank of Iran reached an agreement with a special group called the "action plan" regarding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism. Iran committed to implement the action plan to demonstrate its commitments.