Ministry of Foreign Affairs Insists on the Validity of Zarif's Statements Regarding Financial Corruption and Money Laundering

On Wednesday, November 14, the spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs insisted on the existence of "widespread" money laundering in the country, labeling the criticisms from several members of parliament regarding Mohammad Javad Zarif's statements as "misuse and factional exploitation." Zarif's recent remarks about the "reality" of extensive money laundering in Iran, from which "many benefit," faced backlash from several parliamentarians. Ali Akbar Karimi, a member of the Economic Commission of Parliament, described Zarif's comments as "malicious" and added that the government should be accountable for his claims. Alireza Salimi, a member of the Education and Research Commission of Parliament, expressed "surprise" and "regret" over Zarif's statements, accusing him of giving "foreigners a pretext" and suggesting he should instead respond to critics' doubts regarding the FATF. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to these criticisms by stating that the Foreign Minister's remarks "were neither a new claim nor had an exposé aspect." According to Qasemi, what Zarif expressed about money laundering, which "some individuals have misused for factional exploitation," was merely a "realistic and diagnostic perspective." The spokesperson added that the Foreign Minister intended to point out "one of the side effects of this phenomenon, namely the use of some illicit financial resources for creating pressure and psychological warfare against the government's legal actions and transparency measures." Zarif's statements regarding money laundering came after the Guardian Council rejected the bill for Iran's accession to the Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT). The "High Supervisory Board on the Implementation of General Policies of the System," which operates within the Expediency Discernment Council, also raised objections to this bill. Critics of Zarif accuse him, the Foreign Minister, and some government officials of making these statements on the verge of determining the fate of the CFT bill to "create fear in the public sphere and among the people" and to "divert the public from the main issues of the country." In this context, the Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday about the "invitation" of Mohammad Javad Zarif to the National Security Commission of Parliament "to provide documentation" regarding the "widespread" money laundering. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) expressed regret on October 19 that most of Iran's commitments remain unresolved and extended Iran's suspension from the group's blacklist for another four months, which was welcomed by Islamic Republic officials. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has advised Iran to implement anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures before the February 2019 deadline set by the FATF.