Araghchi:

Cutting off terrorism financing impossible without intl. cooperation

Deputy FM Araghchi urged accession to the Convention for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism, saying cutting off lines of financial support for terrorists is impossible without international cooperation.

News ID: 70628

Date: 10 June 2018 - 13:39

TEHRAN (Defapress) –Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araghchi appealed for Iran’s accession to the Convention for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism at today’s parliament session, saying the bill is an international mechanism for combatting terrorism.

Araghchi noted that Iran is threatened by two types of terrorism, one is the international terrorism to which Iran is a victim, and the other is the instrumental use of the concept of terrorism by the West to undermine the efforts of resistance groups, particularly those in opposition to the Israeli regime.

Araghchi maintained that the international community recognizes four groups, including ISIL, al-Qaeda, Taliban and al-Nusra, as terrorist groups, stressing that without international cooperation within the framework of conventions, it is impossible to cut off sources of terrorism financing.

He added that while Iranian youth are giving up their lives in the fight against terrorism in Syria, there are some loopholes in Iran’s banking system that could be exploited to provide finance for terrorist groups and drug smuggling networks.

Araghchi then stressed that all loopholes and deficiencies in the CFT bill that could be exploited by the West against the Islamic Republic have been carefully assessed, and the conditions set by Iran for joining the bill cover those areas.

“We have thought of an exit door to the Convention so that any time we feel that our national interests or the Resistance is at risk, we can easily leave it,” Araghchi said.

The Iranian diplomat further stressed that failure to join the Convention might lead to new sanctions against Iran.

The Iranian lawmakers have voted to give the assessment of the CFT bill two more months before they could decide whether to agree to the accession. Meanwhile, Iran has been given until 14 June to pass the bill.

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