Iran takes another step towards compliance with financial crime watchdog

Iran’s top arbitration body has approved a bill that could help remove Tehran from the blacklist of a global financial crime watchdog, state media reports, as the country faces the return of UN and EU sanctions.

Iran’s Expediency Council conditionally approved joining the Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), state media says.

Iran will adhere to the convention as long as it does not contradict its constitution or laws, Iranian state TV reports.

Iran has been on the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force’s blacklist since 2020 due to its non-compliance with international standards on anti-terrorism financing and combating organized crime.

The designation has further isolated Iran from global financial markets.

Foreign businesses assert that Iran’s adherence to FATF regulations is crucial for attracting investors, yet Iranian officials remain divided on the benefits of such compliance.

In 2024, President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Tehran must address issues related to FATF.

In May this year, the Expediency Council approved the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime in accordance with local laws.

The Council, a body of clerics and jurists under the supervision of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, serves as a mediator in conflicts between parliament and the Guardian Council.