Iran's FATF gridlock spawns 'death threats'

Iran’s Expediency Council, the body tasked with settling disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council, is currently debating two contentious bills that have divided the Iranian political landscape, resulting in a call for a national referendum to end the dispute.

The Expediency Council has three more weeks to make a decision on Iran’s ratification of a Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) bill and also accession to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, often referred to as the Palermo Convention. The bills have been passed back and forth between the parliament, which approved them, and the Guardian Council, which has kept finding faults with the bills.

The CFT and Palermo bills are part of four pieces of legislation that would facilitate Iran being removed from the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Supporters of the bills believe they will ease banking transactions between Iran and other countries while creating financial transparency, which will help combat money laundering and terror financing. Critics contend that it would give away sensitive financial information while serving as a Trojan horse forcing Iran into making greater concessions in the future, particularly with reference to its support of regional groups such as Hezbollah. FATF has given Iran until February to approve the measures.

Majid Ansari, a member of the Expediency Council and an ally of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, has recommended putting the bills to a popular vote in a referendum to end the gridlock. He claims to have received death threats as a result. Ansari said in an interview with the semi-official ISNA news agency, “A suspicious movement, by taking advantage of pure emotions and the genuine concern of the faithful, the youth and seminary students, have attempted to divert this issue from its ordinary path.” He added, “They have mobilized individuals to send threatening messages to officials.”