TEHRAN — Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, an interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran, has described the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as one of the enemy’s tools aimed to hamper Iran’s progress.

“The FATF is one of the enemy’s rings of sedition which it insists upon,” Seddiqi told worshippers in Tehran on Friday.

The enemies are looking for opportunities to undermine Iran’s independence and progress, he said.

Ratifying the FATF-related bills has become a contentious issue in Iran.

The parliament passed the FATF in October 2018. However, the oversight Guardian Council rejected the bill. 

Whenever there is a dispute between the parliament and the Guardian Council on a bill, it will be referred to the Expediency Council for final decision. Now it is up to the Expediency Council to reject or ratify the FATF.

The Paris-based task force said on October 18 that it has given Iran a final deadline of February 2020 to tighten its laws against money laundering in compliance with the global watchdog’s financial standards.

“If before February 2020, Iran does not enact the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions in line with the FATF Standards, then the FATF will fully lift the suspension of counter-measures and call on its members and urge all jurisdictions to apply effective counter-measures, in line with recommendation 19,” the FATF said in a statement, Reuters reported.

One of the actions Iran is required to take to appease the FATF is to ratify the CFT, the convention combatting the financing of terrorism.

The government is pushing for the approval of the FATF, but some figures of the principlist camp argue that such act could not resolve any problems, including the sanctions that the United States imposed on Iran after it withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement.

People’s economic condition deteriorated since JCPOA was signed: Seddiqi

During his sermon, Hojjatoleslam Seddiqi also criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA), saying since the JCPOA went into force, the Iranian people’s economic condition deteriorated and prices soared.

“And our dear people experienced the bitterest conditions in a short time,” he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted a maximum pressure policy against Iran since he walked away from the JCPOA. The policy includes sanctions on Iran’s economy, especially its oil exports, and bans on top Iranian figures and organizations. At the same time, the U.S. president has pushed for talks with Tehran.

Iranian leaders have openly rejected the notion of talks with the U.S. as long as its illegal sanctions against Tehran are in place.

Under the JCPOA, Iran had agreed to put limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for termination of economic and financial sanctions.

Tehran has described the U.S. sanctions as “economic war” and “economic terrorism”.

MH/PA