The Iranian regime parliament on Sunday voted to postpone a bill vote over the regime joining the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Tehran seeks time to allow the result of its talks with Europe reach a conclusion and decide afterwards.
The FATF is a convention aimed at fighting to disrupt money laundering and funds for terrorist groups. Various FATF regulations will bring about major restrictions for the Iranian regime’s banking systems.
The regime’s parliament members have agreed to postpone any review of this bill for at least two months until the result of negotiations with Europe are clarified. 138 yes votes over 103 votes against and six abstainers.
Accordingly, the delayed in the assessment of this bill will allow the Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to continue money laundering to provide for his terrorist proxies across the globe. Furthermore, the Iranian people will be the ones paying the price as a result.
The parliament speaker Ali Larijani said: “In this regard Mr. Borujerdi (head of the parliament’s National Security & Foreign Affairs Commission) also has reservations on this subject and these two months will provide the time needed to resolve these issues.”
Other parliament members were also voicing long-term concerns.
“80 percent of the sanctions imposed against the Islamic republic are American secondary sanctions against our people (read the regime). Why should we even be joining this initiative?” asked Hossein Taghavi Hosseini, spokesman for the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Affairs committee.
“Why are placing ourselves in conditions where our intelligence will be placed completely at our enemy’s disposal and they will be able to take measures against us and control all our moves. Based on the FATF, un-sanctioned entities cannot have any collaboration with sanctioned entities,” he added.
“The only solution in joining this convention is that it enables the Americans to pinpoint their sanctions. Listen carefully. These are expressions exchanged between diplomats of the U.S. and Europe. They say now that the Islamic Republic of Iran has precision missiles, we need to have precision sanctions,” Hosseini claimed.
In addition, the Iranian regime’s deputy economy minister said, cited by the state Vatane Emruz daily: “We cannot neglect the FATF and say we will not join the convention. The FATF is an internationally recognized framework and if we intend to work with the world’s bank we are forced to adapt ourselves with its conditions.”
Kayhan daily, known to be the mouthpiece of Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, had this to share:
“Joining the FATF will provide new legal tools at our enemies’ disposal, establish a world consensus against the state and realize increasing sanctions against the country’s state institutions, such as the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)… Will this not lead to a blow to the heroic [Lebanese] Hezbollah and the state’s strategic depth?
“The U.S. is seeking to overthrow us; Europe pursues its own economic interest and stopping our missile and regional power; and the FATF will provide tools to these powers that are looking to gain influence over our economic/political security and regional influence,” the piece explains.
The faction close to Khamenei in the regime’s parliament issued a statement saying:
“Bearing in mind the fact that the world’s major powers consider the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas in Palestine, Yemen’s Ansarollah [Houthis], Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) and other similar groups as terrorist entities, and instead at least covertly support the [PMOI/MEK], joining the FATF will render endless international measures and increasing sanctions against a variety of our state entities, including the IRGC. Our state institutions and officials will be divided into two classifications of sanctioned and non-sanctioned entities. As a result, there will also be entities sanctioned inside the country. At the end of the day, Iran’s dossier will be referred to The Hague and United Nations Security Council.”
Tehran’s grave concerns about the FATF, and their lose-lose situation, evolved further through the remarks of another regime MP.
“If we choose not to join this convention, we will not be able to monitor the hypocrites, or the so-called People’s Mojahedin Organization, in any country. However, by joining [the FATF] we can pursue the measures taken across the globe against the Islamic Republic, our country, our national interests,” said Iranian lawmaker Mostafa Kavakabian.
Interesting is how Tehran claims the PMOI/MEK is a group with no roots inside the country and is facing complete demise, and all the while, with the FATF placing the regime before damning circumstances, the case of monitoring the PMOI/MEK’s measures against the Iranian regime is linked to the mullahs joining this international platform or not.