Feb 5, 2019, 4:49 PM

Rezaie describes INSTEX link to FATF as ‘blackmailing’

Rezaie describes INSTEX link to FATF as ‘blackmailing’

TEHRAN, Feb. 05 (MNA) – Expediency Council (EC) Secretary Mohsen Rezaie has criticized the newly established financial channel known as INSTEX by Europeans saying that linking the channel to the accession of FATF related bills is sort of ‘blackmailing’.

In a Tuesday tweet, he highlighted that Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) is a channel aimed at bartering of goods.

“After such a long delay, tying Palermo and CFT to INSTEX is a kind of blackmailing,” he noted.

Rezaie also urged European countries to adhere to their commitments on JCPOA and not set new conditions for Iran.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Thursday issued a joint statement on the creation of INSTEX, a Special Purpose Vehicle aimed at facilitating legitimate trade between European economic operators and Iran, in a bid to bypass the US sanctions and convince Iran to remain in the nuclear deal following the US unilateral withdrawal from the agreement.

According to the statement, the mechanism will focus initially on the sectors most essential to the Iranian population – such as pharmaceutical, medical devices and agri-food goods, and will later expand to be open to economic operators from third countries who wish to trade with Iran.

The European Council, however, has urged Iran to adopt and implement the necessary legislation pursuant to its commitments under the FATF Action Plan.

On October 7 last year, Iran's Parliament approved four bills put forward by the government to meet standards set by the FATF. The Guardian Council of the Constitution, which was supposed to decide whether those will become laws, however, dismissed one controversial bill on combating “terror financing.” The oversight body said it had found "flaws and ambiguities" in the draft legislation. The bill is currently being reviewed by the Expediency Council.

MNA/4534551

News ID 142247

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