TEHRAN — Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has agreed with President Hassan Rouhani’s request to only extend the time of discussions on the FATF-related bills in the Expediency Council, the council announced on Thursday.

It came several days after the president asked the Leader to authorize a renewed discussion on the FATF’s Palermo and terrorist financing conventions in the Council.

La’ya Jonaidi, who serves as deputy to President Rouhani for legal affairs, said she was optimistic the Council would approve the two remaining FATF conventions to help remove unnecessary hurdles that might arise from Iran’s continued inclusion in the FATF blacklist.      

Critics of the FATF in Iran say the body is excessively influenced by the United States and any move to comply with its recommendations would expose Tehran’s efforts to circumvent the illegal U.S. sanctions.

Heibatollah Osuli, a deputy chairman of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce (TCCIM), has said that accepting the FATF requirements would positively impact Iran’s trade relations with the rest of the world and would result in better economic condition for the people in the country.

Osuli told ILNA on Thursday that rejecting the two remaining FATF conventions would create extra barriers for Iran in its trade with close allies.

“If the approval of the FATF (conventions) is still opposed, our current problems will intensify,” he predicted.

Two of the FATF conventions -the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions – have not been ratified yet, and were put on the shelf for some time.

Mohsen Rezaee, the secretary of the Expediency Council, said last week that the Rouhani administration is working to return the FATF conventions to the Council. Rezaee also said that the Rouhani administration has sent a letter to the Leader in this regard.

MH/PA