MNA – Today, Iran Expediency Council passed the set deadline for it to announce its verdict on the ratification of FATF-related bills i.e., CFT and Palermo; accordingly, joining the bill is no longer on agenda of Iranian legislators.

If the government plans to reopen the FATF file, it has to submit a new related plan to the Parliament to be approved again.

On January 1, Ayatollah Amoli Larijani, the chairman of Iran's Expediency Council expressed his view about ratification of the bill on joining the Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), calling CFT a major threat to Iran’s national security and worse than the nuclear deal, JCPOA.

“In my opinion, Palermo and CFT are very dangerous for Iran's national security, with CFT even more so,” he said.

Noting that the JCPOA experience proved the unreliability of Americans and their allies to Iran, he said “CFT is more dangerous than Palermo.”

The bill is one of a collection of four pieces of legislation against money laundering and funding terrorism Iran's Parliament (Majles) has approved to meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body working to ensure countries and financial institutions have the right mechanisms to prevent corrupt dealings.

In October 2018, Iran's Parliament passed the four bills, but only two of them have so far gone into effect. Majles' ratifications need to be approved by the Guardian Council, a watchdog that makes sure laws are consistent with Iran's constitution and Shia rules.

FATF has given Iran a final deadline of February 2020 to implement a set of four bills to meet the standards set by the watchdog.

Those against the endorsement of the FATF-related bills say the move would impose further restrictions on Iran’s economic relations while the country is under US severe sanctions.