Salehi: FATF Decision Indicates Opponent Does Not Want to Create a Deadlock

One day after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) extended Iran's suspension from the blacklist for another four months, the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization cautiously welcomed this move and stated that discussions regarding Iran's continued presence in the JCPOA are ongoing. According to Iranian media, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, on Saturday, March 4, referred to the FATF's extension of Iran's deadline, saying, "This action shows that the other side does not want to bring the situation to a point where a deadlock is felt." Mr. Salehi pointed out that this issue is "mutually examined in Iran, and decisions will be made based on what is beneficial for national interests," adding that the Islamic Republic does not make decisions about continuing its presence in the JCPOA "based on emotions," but rather "monitors actions and makes calculated decisions." Iranian officials have repeatedly accused Europe of "shortcomings" in fulfilling their obligations under the JCPOA in recent weeks, stating that the commitments made by the 4+1 countries to preserve the JCPOA after the U.S. withdrawal have yet to be implemented, and the launch of INSTEX, a tool to support trade exchanges, is "only a precondition for fulfilling promises." However, European trade exchanges with Iran face challenges not only from U.S. sanctions but also from the Iranian economy's distance from global standards in terms of money laundering and terrorism financing. The FATF, which oversees global financial transparency in banking transactions and prevents money laundering and terrorism financing, had placed Iran and North Korea on its blacklist but has given the Islamic Republic several opportunities to comply with global standards by passing laws. So far, out of the four bills presented by Rouhani's government to satisfy the FATF, only two have been finally approved, while the other two bills, known as "Palermo" and "CFT," have faced serious opposition and are now awaiting a decision from the Expediency Discernment Council. These two recent bills call for Iran's accession to two conventions on "combating transnational organized crime" and "countering the financing of terrorism." While the struggles over these two bills continue, the Central Bank of Iran has expressed hope for their approval. According to Tasnim, the public relations office of the Central Bank of Iran emphasized on Saturday that the actions of three European countries for trade with Iran are "far less than the Europeans' commitment to prevent the collapse of the JCPOA," but "to show interaction," an Iranian company corresponding to that will soon be introduced. On the other hand, Iranian media continued to publish the views of supporters and opponents of the controversial bills in the Expediency Discernment Council on Saturday. In the latest case, Mostafa Mirsalim, a member of this council, told Fars News Agency that the approval of these two bills poses the risk of "tying the government's hands in countering and circumventing U.S. sanctions" and "completing the country's siege chain." Conversely, Abdolreza Hashemzadeh, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, defended the approval of these two bills in an interview with ILNA, accusing the U.S. and Israel of "doing everything they can to prevent us from joining these conventions."