The Bill for Accession to the Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism Remains in Abeyance for Two Months

On Sunday, June 9, the Iranian Parliament voted to suspend the bill for Iran's accession to the Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism for two months. The request for suspension was approved with 138 votes in favor, 103 against, and six abstentions. The Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism is a UN treaty aimed at encouraging governments and international cooperation to cut off financial resources to groups labeled as terrorist, adopted in 1999, with 187 countries having joined it so far. The bill for accession was presented to the Islamic Consultative Assembly by President Hassan Rouhani's government on November 29, 2017, and was approved with amendments by the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on May 29, 2023. This commission emphasized that the accession document will only be submitted after the Islamic Republic is removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist. Additionally, it was stated that Iran's accession to the convention does not imply recognition or establishment of relations with Israel, and compliance with provisions conflicting with the Islamic Republic's constitution is not required. The bill is one of four significant bills related to the implementation of FATF regulations that have been discussed in Parliament in recent weeks. Among these four bills, the 'Amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Law' and 'Amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Financing Law' are currently under review, while the 'Bill for Accession to the Palermo Convention on Organized Crime,' which has recently passed Parliament, has been returned by the Guardian Council for amendments. The issue of the Islamic Republic's accession to the Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism has faced heightened sensitivity from conservatives. For instance, on Saturday, June 8, it was reported that a group of seminary students protested against this bill and other related bills outside Ali Larijani's office in Qom, and the conservative faction in Parliament called for a negative vote on the accession bill. On Sunday, the official news agency of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, House of the Nation, reported that a group of representatives opposed to Iran's accession to this convention displayed a petition signed by opponents in front of the Speaker's podium during the open session of Parliament. This action faced criticism from Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, who described it as contrary to the internal regulations of Parliament and urged opposing representatives to engage in dialogue and discussion with other representatives instead of such actions. Opponents of these bills in the Islamic Consultative Assembly are concerned that the approval of these bills may complicate Iran's financial support for groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and armed Palestinian groups, increasing pressure on the Islamic Republic due to its support for these groups. Hezbollah and the Palestinian groups supported by the Islamic Republic are all listed as terrorist organizations by the United States, but Iranian officials have consistently described these groups as a resistance front against Israel and have not shied away from openly supporting them over the decades. The Financial Action Task Force was established in 1989 and monitors international standards against money laundering and the financing of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Iran has been on the FATF blacklist since 2009, but in the last two years, the group has suspended some restrictions against Iran while emphasizing its continued inclusion on the blacklist. The group announced last March that it would suspend actions against Iran for an additional four months, giving Tehran the opportunity to complete the reforms required by this entity. This four-month opportunity will end at the end of this month, in early July, and now, with Parliament's decision to suspend the accession bill for two months, it remains to be seen how much other actions by the Islamic Republic in this area will encourage the FATF to again suspend actions against Iran.