The comment came days after lawmakers voted down a bid to block the government from joining a United Nations convention against terror financing, paving the way for Tehran to meet global anti-money laundering standards, Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.
Lawmakers rejected the motion with 150 votes in favor, 73 against and nine abstentions out of 238 members present, Tasnim said. The bill, introduced by conservative lawmakers, sought to halt Iran’s conditional approval to join the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government had sought the Supreme Leader’s consent to review the long-delayed measure, which was granted after extensive expert study, Mohammad-Mehdi Shahriari told ILNA.
“The CFT was approved with conditions and safeguards after a long process involving parliament, the Guardian Council, and the Expediency Council,” Shahriari said.
The CFT is linked to Financial Action Task Force standards that require countries to monitor and report financial transactions to combat money laundering and terror financing. Hardliners say joining would expose Iran’s financial networks used to bypass sanctions and support allied groups in the Middle East.
Shahriari criticized ultraconservative lawmakers for trying to block progress on the bill. “Our revolutionary brothers became angry and said it was not the right time to discuss this,” he said. “But with so many barriers in trade and banking, the Palermo and CFT bills can ease the burden created after years of sanctions.”
The speaker of parliament should not have allowed the renewed deliberation, Shahriari said. “The Supreme Leader had already authorized a re-examination, so no one else can invalidate it. Revisiting CFT in the chamber was illegal.”
Failure to adopt global financial rules has worsened Iran’s economic problems and strained ties even with friendly states, he said. “Russia and China have both said that our refusal to join FATF conventions complicates trade with them,” he said. “When most countries have joined and only Iran and North Korea stand apart, what purpose does it serve except more isolation?”
Joining such conventions would not end sanctions but would remove excuses for new restrictions and help Iran rejoin global financial systems once sanctions are lifted, he said.
The United States has for decades accused Tehran of using its regional allies to fund and organize attacks, labeling Iran the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism for 39 consecutive years.