29 Mar 2024
Sunday 7 October 2018 - 16:25
Story Code : 322362

Iran parliament passes counter-terror finance bill

Iran parliament passes counter-terror finance bill
Bourse and Bazaar | AFP: Iran's parliament on Sunday approved a bill tocounter terrorist financing that was strongly opposed by conservatives butseen as vital to salvaging the nuclear deal with European and Asian partners.

The bill, one of four put forward by the government in a bid to meetdemands set by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF), waspassed by 143 votes to 120, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

It aims to bring Iran's laws in line with international standards and allowit to join the UN Terrorism Financing Convention.

A previous bill on the mechanics of monitoring and preventing terroristfinancing was signed into law in August.

But joining the UN convention has been controversial because hardliners sayit will limit Iran's ability to support armed groups in the region such as itsLebanese ally, Hezbollah.

Two other billson money-laundering and organised crimehave alsobeen passed by parliament but are being held up by the Guardian Council, whichvets all legislation.

Iran is alone with North Korea on the blacklist of the Paris-based FATF,which monitors global money laundering and terrorist financing.

The FATF suspended counter-measures against Iran in June 2017 and has set afinal deadline of mid-October for it to amend its laws.

The issue has become particularly pressing since the United States walkedout of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran earlier this year and began reimposingsanctions.

The other parties to the dealBritain, France, Germany, China and Russiahave sought to salvage the agreement and maintain trade with Iran, but havedemanded that it accede to the FATF.

"Neither I nor the president can guarantee that all problems will go awayif we join (the UN convention)," said Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad JavadZarif during the debate ahead of the vote.

"But I guarantee that not joining will provide the US with more excuses toincrease our problems," he added.

He said Russia and Chinatwo of Iran's "strategic allies"haverefused to maintain financial ties unless it joined the FATF.

'Death to Traitors'

Conservatives were furious with the vote on Sunday, with hardliners leadingchants of "death to traitors" outside parliament.

In a heated debate ahead of the vote, opponents of the bill said it wouldnot solve the country's financial problems, and would help its enemies.

"We did what (the FATF) demanded, we passed three bills but nothinghappened. Our financial problems will not go away even if we join," saidlawmaker Hossein Naghavi Hosseini.

Another hardliner, Mohammad Dehghan, warned the bill means "providing theenemy with intelligence during an economic war" and that passing it amountedto "treason".

Both sides have evoked supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to supporttheir position.

Conservatives pointed to Ayatollah Khamenei's statement in June that Iran has "noneed to join" global conventions.

But parliament speaker Ali Larijani, who supports the government'sposition, said he had received a letter fromAyatollah Khamenei explaining that hisremarks were about "conventions in general" and not meant to oppose anyparticular bills.

Reformist lawmaker Mohammad Feyzi told the session that Iran does not have"the luxury of choice" and will face negative consequences if it refuses tojoin the FATF.

Ali Najafi, spokesman for the parliament's commission which produced thebill, said Iran retained the right to walk away from the UN convention"wherever it acts against the Iranian constitution" and emphasized that itdoes not force Iran to recognize Israel.
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