The Expediency Discernment Council of Iran Again Did Not Approve the Palermo Bill

The Expediency Discernment Council of Iran postponed its decision on the bill for Iran's accession to the Palermo Convention to another session, with some members citing the "significant gap between opinions" as the reason. This council had also not approved the Palermo Convention for combating transnational organized crime the previous week, referring it for further review to two political-defense and legal-judicial committees. Some Iranian media had previously reported that these two committees rejected the mentioned bill. According to Tasnim News Agency, Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, stated on Saturday, February 25, that sufficient time should be given for opponents and proponents to express their views. He added, "The Expediency Council is the last bastion of national interests and the interests of the Islamic Republic, and we cannot be influenced by pressures here." Rezaei also mentioned that there are "many ambiguities" regarding the Palermo bill, including Iran's conditions for joining it. In the Iranian parliament's resolutions regarding bills related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations, it has been stated that the Islamic Republic does not consider groups that engage in "legitimate defense" as terrorist groups. However, opponents argue that these conditions are not executable if Iran joins these conventions, blocking the way for financial assistance to groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and similar organizations. Ahmad Tavakoli, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, also commented on the failure to reach a conclusion on this bill in Saturday's session, saying, "This issue is sensitive, and everyone wants to express their opinion." He added, "The gap between the opinions of the gentlemen was greater than could be resolved today." Tavakoli also noted that Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister, managed to convince the members of the Expediency Discernment Council during this session. However, Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari, another member of the council, stated, "Government representatives in today's session did not provide convincing answers to the council members, and the atmosphere of today's session was not conducive to the approval of the Palermo bill." The News Online website also reported that in this session, the foreign and economic ministers defended the Palermo bill, and the opinions of the two committees were presented, but the council members did not have the opportunity to express their views, leading to the decision being postponed to the next session. This bill and the bill for Iran's accession to the Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism have not been approved, while the deadline set by the FATF for Iran is about to expire in a month. Meanwhile, several ministers have requested in a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei that these two bills related to FATF regulations be approved before the expiration of this group's deadline, which some Friday prayer leaders have criticized. Previously, Laya Joneidi, the legal deputy of the president, stated that the approval of these bills would "facilitate the implementation of the European financial mechanism." However, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the parliament, rejected the connection between the postponement of the Palermo bill's approval in the Expediency Council and the new European promise regarding the implementation of a special financial mechanism for Iran. He stated, "The review of this bill was postponed for technical reasons in the Expediency Council, and political factors were not the reason for the delay in reviewing this bill." Informed sources in the European Union have told Radio Farda that on February 26, after the official registration of the EU's "special mechanism" for trade with Iran, the "summary" of the European Council regarding issues related to Iran is likely to be approved. EU members have also referenced "progress on necessary reforms regarding Iran's commitments based on FATF" in their recent summary and expressed their readiness to continue cooperating with Iran in this regard, including providing technical assistance. Two other FATF bills, including the "Bill to Amend the Anti-Terrorism Financing Law" and the "Bill to Amend the Anti-Money Laundering Law," have been approved by the Guardian Council and the Expediency Discernment Council. The FATF expressed regret on October 19 that most of Iran's commitments remain unresolved, while extending Iran's suspension from the group's blacklist for another four months, which was welcomed by Iranian officials.