US-Arab lobby working to convince FATF against Iran: source

According to Trend, “The Trump administration, backed by some Arab countries, has started an extensive campaign to re-impose some reciprocal actions against Iran via the FATF,” the unnamed source was quoted as having said.

However, on the same day IRNA news agency quoted yet again an unnamed source as having said that there is “unprecedented international support for Iran” in a FATF summit underway in Spain.

Iranian financial policy makers seek to join the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which is a global standard setting body for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

Iran’s banking system needs to cooperate with the FATF in order to reintegrate into the global financial system following the implementation of its nuclear deal with world powers and an ensuing removal of economic sanctions.

The Iranian government has said it is intent upon continuing cooperation with the FATF on anti-terrorism and money laundering actions despite pressure from domestic critics.

On June 24, 2016, the FATF decided to keep Iran on its blacklist of high-risk countries but welcomed Iranian promises to improve and called for a one-year suspension of some restrictions on Tehran.

“The FATF therefore has suspended counter-measures for 12 months in order to monitor Iran's progress in implementing the Action Plan,” the international body announced then.

The government’s decision to improve the country’s financial transparency in cooperation with the FATF has found critics as strong as Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on September 4 said, “We are not bound to implement whatever international organizations unjustly decide for Iran,” adding the move is a plot to restrict Iran’s access to financial resources.

END