The Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called on lawmakers Wednesday to pass laws related to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) that are independent from international conventions.
“It is not necessary for the country to join treaties the depth and intentions [behind them] of which we are unaware of and know that they have some problems,” he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said, “These [international] conventions are first devised in think tanks of big powers aimed at meeting their own interests and then are joined by some like-minded or intimidated governments that would then give the treaties an international standing,” his official website reported.
If an independent country like Iran decides not to accept such conventions, it would be severely censured on the premise that “when 150 countries have accepted it [convention], how come you reject it?”
Ayatollah Khamenei said “some of the terms of such conventions may be good…But it is not necessary to join conventions the depth and intentions [behind them] of which we are unaware and know that they have some problems.”
He did not mention any particular convention by name, but was apparently referring to the recent debates in parliament over whether Iran should join the United Nation's International Convention for Combating the Financing of Terrorism whose review process was postponed for two months last week.
Joining the convention is one of key measures expected to help Iran vis-à-vis the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global standard-setting body for anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism measures.
The government in Tehran has been striving to implement standards set by the FATF in the hope that it will be removed from a blacklist that discourages foreign investors from working in and with Iran.
The definition of terrorism in the UN convention is subject to controversy, with critics claiming that the treaty aims to restrict Iranian support for resistance groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine by labeling them as terrorists.
Conservative lawmakers and politicians believe Iran should not join such a treaty, the government and more moderate MPs insist that the definition of terrorism in the UN convention does not run counter to Iran’s policies and suggest that the government can table “reservations” about the definition of terrorism to stop any possible misuse of the term against Iran in the future.
***US Separating Kids From Parents Panned
The Leader criticized the US administration’s separation of immigrant parents and their children at the US-Mexico border, saying the true colors of those who claim to support human rights have been exposed.
“Seeing the images of the crime of separating thousands of children from their mothers in America makes a person exasperated,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, “But the Americans separate the children from their immigrant parents with gross malice.”
Nearly 2,000 children have been separated from their families in a series of cages created by metal fencing at the US border with Mexico since the start of Donald Trump's new “zero tolerance” policy on illegal immigration, according to new figures from the Department of Homeland Security.
Church groups and human rights advocates in the US have sharply criticized the policy, calling it inhumane.
Ayatollah Khamenei also censured the deadly attacks of the Saudi-led coalition to capture a key port city in Yemen, saying “these enemies of humanity are also antagonistic toward Iran because of our resistance and calls for justice.”
