IRNA - Spokesman for the Iranian government on Tuesday urged approving the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) treaty in the parliament.

If the FATF-related bill is not approved in the parliament, (hostile) countries can accuse Iran of (funding terrorism) but if the Islamic Republic joins the international treaty, it can defend itself against such allegations there, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht told reporters.

He referred to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, and said that certain countries are trying to threaten the Iranian nation's interests, but the government is committed to counter such hostile policies and reduce the effects of such moves.

In June 2016, the FATF welcomed Iran's high-level political commitment to address its strategic AML/CFT deficiencies and suspended countermeasures for a year. Given Iran's steps in the following year, the organization decided in November 2017 to continue the suspension of countermeasures.

However, Iran's deadline to fulfill its action plan with the FATF passed on January 31 with a number of items remaining incomplete. Therefore the organization has now suspended countermeasures once more, advising Iran to fully address its remaining items.