Rouhani's Deputy Confirms Threats to Representatives to Vote Against Anti-Terrorism Convention Bill

The parliamentary deputy of the Iranian president confirmed reports of 'threats' made to several members of parliament, aimed at coercing them to oppose the bill for Iran's accession to the Anti-Terrorism Financing Convention. Hossein Ali Amiri, deputy to Hassan Rouhani, stated on Saturday, June 16, in an interview with Khabar Online that the 'hidden aspects' of this issue should be pursued by security agencies. According to Amiri, without providing details, individuals have visited the offices of some representatives in their constituencies and 'threatened' them. He also mentioned the sending of threatening text messages to parliament members, stating that the 'hidden aspects' should be followed up by the country's security apparatus. In recent days, several representatives have reported receiving 'threatening' messages regarding the bill for Iran's accession to the Anti-Terrorism Financing Convention. For instance, Mostafa Kaveh Kabi, a representative from Tehran, reported that the 'Student Basij' sent about '600 messages' to each representative. Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker, and Alireza Rahimi, a member of the board of directors of parliament, also indicated that most of these messages were 'sent from Mashhad'. Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Jamali Nobandegani, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, stated on Saturday that he received 'a thousand messages' regarding this issue. According to Jamali Nobandegani, the text of these messages urged representatives to speak out against the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations. The bill for the Islamic Republic's accession to the Anti-Terrorism Financing Convention has already faced opposition from Friday prayer leaders, including Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, and members of the Stability Front. On Saturday, June 8, a group of clerics gathered in front of Ali Larijani's office in Qom, and the conservative faction of parliament also called for a negative vote on this bill. Ultimately, the Iranian parliament remained silent on Sunday, June 9, and voted to put the bill on hold for two months. During the review of this bill in parliament, a group of members of the Stability Front distributed petitions in the parliament chamber in protest against this bill, which drew a reaction from Ali Larijani, the speaker of parliament. The bill for Iran's accession to the Anti-Terrorism Financing Convention is one of four controversial bills related to the implementation of FATF regulations. Of these four bills, the generalities of two bills, 'Amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Law' and 'Amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Financing Law', have been approved by parliament and their details also need to be approved. The 'Bill for Accession to the Convention against Organized Crime', known as Palermo, has also been re-approved by parliament after some objections from the Guardian Council and sent to this council for confirmation. Iran has been on the FATF blacklist since 2009, but in the past two years, this group has emphasized keeping Iran on its blacklist while suspending some restrictions against Iran. This four-month opportunity will end at the end of this month, early July, and now with the parliament's decision to put the bill for accession to the Anti-Terrorism Financing Convention on hold for two months, it remains to be seen how much other actions by the Islamic Republic government in this regard will encourage the FATF to suspend actions against Iran again. Meanwhile, the parliamentary deputy of the president said, 'Although the government did not agree with the bill's suspension, given the circumstances of that day in parliament, it did not oppose the parliament's vote.' Amiri also reminded that this bill had been presented to parliament in the previous government. Khabar Online reported on June 12 that in 2010, Saeed Jalili, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, had asked the government and other institutions to 'prepare the grounds for Iran's exit from the FATF blacklist.' According to this report, the Anti-Terrorism Financing Bill was also presented and approved by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government after this request. Previously, several members of parliament, including Alireza Beigi, quoted Abbas Araghchi, the deputy foreign minister of Iran, as saying that the implementation of FATF regulations, although not directly related to the JCPOA, depends on the 'assistance' of Europeans in new negotiations with Iran. Opponents of the implementation of FATF regulations, including Javad Karimi Qodosi, a representative from Mashhad, believe that the implementation of these regulations will complicate Iran's financial support for groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and armed Palestinian groups. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has denied this claim. Hezbollah and the Palestinian groups supported by the Islamic Republic are all recognized as terrorist organizations by the United States.