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Financial watchdog drama provides ammunition for Iran's hard-liners

While hailed by pro-Reform media outlets, the FATF’s decision to extend its temporary suspension of countermeasures on Iran has provided ammunition for hard-liners in Tehran.
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TEHRAN, Iran — In its latest plenary meeting June 23, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) extended a temporary suspension of countermeasures against Iran for another year. The FATF, however, stated on its website that it will keep monitoring progress in the implementation of its action plan in Iran’s banking system. While President Hassan Rouhani's administration had sought a permanent lifting of the group’s sanctions, pro-Reform media still hailed the decision as a positive signal to foreign investors observing Iran’s developments.

The intergovernmental body, comprised of 35 member jurisdictions and two regional organizations, avoided coupling Iran with North Korea on its so-called blacklist. But it could have helped Iranian moderates push back hard-liners at home had it met a stronger commitment to the spirit of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), critics argue in Tehran.

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