Larijani on FATF: Any Commitment Outside the Laws Must Be Approved by Parliament

Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, on Tuesday, October 6, discussed the country's cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), stating that "any commitment outside the established laws must be approved by Parliament." Mr. Larijani, in the presence of Ali Tayebnia, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Iran, said in the open session of Parliament that "we have passed anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws in Parliament and we believe they must be properly implemented." Mr. Tayebnia had come to the Parliament at his own request to explain the details of Iran's cooperation with the FATF. The Speaker also responded to remarks by Mohammad Dehghani, a representative from Torqabeh, who considered some commitments to the FATF as "contrary to the Constitution," saying: "You yourself say we do not accept three or four clauses, so why do you question the entire agreement? Diplomatic wisdom is also a good thing." In an indirect defense of President Hassan Rouhani's government's actions regarding the implementation of FATF, Ali Larijani added: "When we accept 37 out of 41 clauses, we should not question the entire issue." The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported that the main focus of the Minister of Economy's remarks in this session was the non-binding nature of the FATF. According to this report, Mr. Tayebnia tried to assure the representatives that membership in the FATF is in the national interests of Iran and that the process was pursued not by the current government but by the previous one and reached a conclusion last year. The Minister of Economy reiterated: "Iran has unjustly been placed on the blacklist alongside North Korea, which has created financial restrictions for banks and financial institutions." Ali Tayebnia explained Iran's conditions for implementing these policies as follows: "Our commitment is solely within the powers of the government and the Supreme Council for Combating Money Laundering; our Constitution has principles, rulings, and values that even our Parliament cannot decide or implement laws contrary to the Constitution." The FATF is an international body based in Paris that formulates guidelines and high-level policies for combating money laundering and terrorist financing worldwide. Until recently, Iran was on this organization's blacklist, which had caused major global banks to refrain from cooperating with Tehran despite the lifting or suspension of international sanctions. Iran's commitment to implementing FATF policies, announced by Ali Tayebnia, has sparked anger among hardliners. In this context, Kharrazi: New conditions for accepting FATF have been approved by the National Security Council. A commander of the IRGC criticized FATF: This treaty is a lever for influencing us. The changing battlefield of "proxy forces"; war against the people in the streets of Iran. The first paragraph; the responsibility of the opposition and the possibility of radicalizing Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis. Trump: I hope there is no need for further action regarding Iran; they were killing people recklessly. The shadow of war over Tehran; "Trump is seeking decisive military options against Iran." Trump emphasizes "stopping executions in Iran": We do not know what will happen in the future. Trump says if the Islamic Republic carries out an assassination against him, "it will be wiped off the face of the earth." The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis.