Why only Khamenei can break deadlock over global watchdog blacklist
The heavily politicized debate in Iran over whether to ratify bills necessary to exit the FATF blacklist has reached a standstill that only the supreme leader seems able to break.
At its recent plenary meeting, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global group working against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, decided against removing Iran from its blacklist while continuing to waive its countermeasures until October. However, developments following the June 29 meeting indicate a serious likelihood that Tehran will approve legislation pertaining to its efforts to permanently exit the blacklist.
On June 20, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with parliament members and implicitly warned them against accepting parts of the proposed bills to comply with the action plan agreed with the FATF, saying, “There is no need to accept things due to some of their positive aspects when we do not know where they are leading and when we do know that they have some flaws.”
