Negotiations with Ayatollah Khamenei's Office Regarding FATF-Related Bills

On Sunday morning, May 30, the Islamic Consultative Assembly held a closed session regarding four controversial bills related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), attended by several senior security and executive officials. According to representatives, negotiations about these bills have also taken place with the office of Ayatollah Khamenei. The four bills presented by President Hassan Rouhani's government have faced opposition from conservatives for months, with 'principlists' considering these bills as a precursor to joining FATF. The bills include: 'Bill to join the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime', 'Bill to join the Convention on the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism', 'Bill to amend the Anti-Money Laundering Law', and 'Bill to amend the Law on Combating the Financing of Terrorism'. According to the House of Representatives news agency, Behrouz Nemati, the spokesperson for the parliamentary board, stated after the closed session that Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, repeatedly stated in the meeting that the four bills are not related to FATF. However, Mr. Nemati emphasized that he personally believes that 'these issues may somehow be related to FATF'. The closed session on Sunday morning, according to Ali Motahari, was 'lengthy' and accompanied by 'intense confrontation' among representatives. The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament also quoted Ali Shamkhani as saying that the issues with these bills have been resolved in collaboration with the Research Center of the Parliament, the Supreme National Security Council, 'and even in connection with the Leader's office'. The Rouhani government claims that the submission of these four bills aims at 'transparency and banking discipline' and 'aligning with the regulations and rules of the world's banks', but government opponents, including representatives from the Steadfast Front who strongly oppose Iran's accession to FATF, consider the approval of these four bills equivalent to joining this group. Iran has been on the FATF's blacklist since 2009, but this group, which aims to 'combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism globally', has suspended some of its restrictions against Iran in the past two years. Opponents of joining FATF cite reasons for their opposition, including the blocking of financial assistance to 'Hamas' and 'Hezbollah'. The Hamas group is listed as a 'terrorist organization' by the U.S., Canada, and Israel, and the European Union also considers its military wing as 'terrorist'. Hezbollah is recognized as a 'terrorist group' by the U.S., the Netherlands, the Arab League, and Israel, and the EU has also classified its military wing as 'terrorist'. Both groups have repeatedly confirmed receiving financial and logistical support from the Islamic Republic, and Ali Motahari stated after the closed session on Sunday that some representatives believe that the approval of FATF-related bills would 'endanger the future of Hezbollah and Hamas', which is not the case and will not be. According to Ali Motahari, the Supreme National Security Council remains responsible for determining 'terrorism criteria'. The Sunday parliamentary session, which included other officials such as Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Minister of Economy Masoud Karbasian, and Abbas Araghchi, head of the JCPOA Follow-up Committee, also discussed the future of the JCPOA.