Parliament's Review of Iran's Cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force Postponed to Next Year

A member of the Economic Commission's board of directors in Parliament announced that the final report of this commission regarding Iran's cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been postponed to next year. Hassan Hosseini Shahroodi said on Sunday (March 19) to the Tasnim news agency that a special working group in the Economic Commission has been tasked with examining this issue. Hosseini Shahroodi added that this group has held several expert sessions so far and has prepared its report in six sections. According to him, the Research Center of the Parliament has also been tasked with summarizing the final reports of the six committees of the special working group and presenting it to the Economic Commission next year. As this parliament representative announced, if the final report of the Research Center is approved in the Economic Commission, it will be read in the open session of Parliament. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an international organization established in 1989 in collaboration with the G7, aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing globally. In March 2009, this group placed Iran alongside Angola, Ecuador, Ethiopia, North Korea, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan on its blacklist. In July 2016, the group decided to keep Iran on the blacklist of high-risk countries but suspended some restrictions against the Islamic Republic for one year. Reuters had also reported prior to the issuance of this FATF statement in 2016 that Iran was negotiating and lobbying with FATF members to be removed from this organization's blacklist. Reuters noted that removing Iran from this list could significantly aid trade with global banks. Iranian Central Bank officials have also reached an agreement with the FATF called the 'Action Plan' regarding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism, which has faced objections from a group of conservatives in Iran. These conservatives argue that Iran's membership in this group could lead to cutting off financial support to Hezbollah in Lebanon and other groups currently supported by Iran. Some parliament representatives also state that if the FATF regulations are implemented, Iran will recognize groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic groups as 'terrorist groups' from 2018 onwards. Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic on international affairs, has also deemed Iran's cooperation with the international anti-money laundering organization as 'not in the country's interest.' Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, mentioned in July this year regarding negotiations with the FATF that the Islamic Republic will 'sacrifice nothing' for the Hezbollah group. Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, also stated that this council has reached a 'positive conclusion' regarding cooperation with the FATF, which will be implemented after the Supreme Leader's approval. Yahya Kamalpour, Vice Chairman of the Judicial and Legal Commission of Parliament, has also recently opposed Iran's cooperation with this group. Mr. Kamalpour said on Sunday to the 'House of the Nation' news agency that 'under the current circumstances, Iran's joining the FATF agreement is not in the interest of the Islamic Republic.' He added, 'If this agreement leads to Iran being subjected to a new dominance, despite all economic benefits, it is certainly unacceptable.'