Expediency Council conditionally approves Palermo bill: Spox
The spokesperson of Iran’s Expediency Council announced that the legislative body has conditionally approved Iran’s accession to the Palermo Convention following three general council sessions and five joint commission meetings.
In a post on his personal X account, Mohsen Dehnavi stated, “Prior to this, the Guardian Council had also approved the bill.”
He added, “Iran has ratified this convention within the framework of its constitution and domestic laws.”
Dehnavi further noted, “Reviewing accession to the Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Convention will be on the agenda for the Expediency Council’s subsequent sessions.”
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) file has been under review in Iran’s Expediency Council, and certain aspects have been approved by the relevant commissions, including Iran’s Parliament.
But two conventions including the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) are on hold in the Expediency Council, which is a legislative body with supervisory powers over all branches of government. These two conventions have been under discussion in the council for six years.
On December 31, 2024, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei agreed to re-examine Iran’s accession to the Palermo and CFT conventions.
Iran’s accession to these two conventions remains the sole obstacle to the country’s membership in the FATF. Resolving this issue would enable Iran to soon exit the FATF’s “blacklist,” which outlines recommendations for combating financial crimes, including terrorism financing and money laundering.
With one bill now approved, the council’s decision on the second bill (CFT) must be finalized to remove remaining barriers to Iran’s FATF membership.
Since 2009, when Iran began preliminary steps to join FATF, its economy has endured 16 turbulent years. Even at the height of oil and banking sanctions due to non-membership, Iran incurred significant costs in financial, banking, and trade transactions.