Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned on Monday that the global watchdog FATF’s recent warning to the Islamic Republic is totally political and refused.
“The Islamic Republic considers anti-money-laundering policies as a necessity and a target in its domestic regulations,” he noted, stressing that FATF has made a political decision against Iran.
He hoped that after having anti-money-laundering rules ratified by the Iranian administration and jurisdiction, the country will be able to take further required measures in this regard through convergence of Iranian bodies.
FATF said on Friday it had given Iran a final deadline of February 2020 to ‘comply with international norms’, warning that “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.”
Zarif, elsewhere addressed Iran’s 4th step of reducing its JCPOA commitments, warning that if Europeans fail to fulfill their promises, Iran will take its next step after the country’s High Security Council confirms the act.
He also referred to his and President Rouhani’s participation in the upcoming Non-Aligned Movement summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, adding that “the NAM is of importance for us since it combats unilateralism and is in accordance with Iran’s policies.”
“The summit is a good opportunity for conducting negotiations on international and regional affairs including Syria,” the Iranian FM added, as quoted by Mehr news agency.
Source: Iranian media
