Iran ratifies law to join UN convention against terror financing
Iran approved its accession to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), with President Masoud Pezeshkian signing the law and instructing its implementation by related ministries and organizations, IRNA reported on Wednesday.
The move came just a day before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary in Paris on October 22–24, where delegates from over 200 jurisdictions would discuss mutual evaluations and global efforts to combat money laundering and terror financing.
In a letter on Tuesday, Pezeshkian signed into law Iran’s accession to the international convention and instructed its implementation by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Intelligence, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, and the Central Bank of Iran.
The Expediency Council, a top body that reviews parliamentary bills for final approval, conditionally gave the go-ahead to Iran’s accession to the CFT earlier this month.
Speaking on October 1, spokesman for the council Mohsen Dehnavi the top body introduced an additional condition under which would prioritize its Constitution and domestic laws when complying with the CFT.
Iran is attending the FATF meetings in Paris for first time in six years as it tries to get off a global financial blacklist.
The task force blacklisted Iran in 2020 mainly for not adopting the Palermo Convention and the CFT. After halting debates on the two conventions over concerns they might undermine Iran’s financial independence, the Expediency Council approved the Palermo convention in May.
Officials with the Iranian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance say the FATF would start to reconsider its designation of Iran only after the country approves the CFT and that it would do so in its upcoming meetings.
Economic experts say Iran should be removed from FATF’s blacklist to be able to maintain its ongoing trade and business relations with countries that reject UN and US sanction policies against Tehran.