IRNA – What Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said about money laundering was 'an honest explanation of one of the problems of the country', said Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on Wednesday.

'Several of the authorities had already talked about the problem and stated that finding a solution to the issue of money laundering has been emphasized by the Islamic Establishment,' said Bahram Qasemi.

'What Zarif said was neither new nor revealing; it was only a realistic approach to one of the side effects of the phenomenon, that is, using some financial resources to create psychological pressure against the legal measures taken by the government and its determination to promote transparency.'

Quoting Zarif, he said that many of the critics of the FATF are concerned about the country, but the fact that some Iranian or international criminal gangs are involved in money laundering is an undeniable reality.

Speaking recently to a domestic news website, Zarif had said he believed many of such concerns on money laundering were the result of an honest approach toward the issue.

But he also emphasized that behind some of such concerns were business interests.