The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to retract its earlier stance and remove Iran from Recommendation 7, reversing its previous position.

After receiving a letter of protest from Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi, the president of FATF has announced the reforms and amendments to its standards concerning United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 to all member nations and the global anti-money laundering network.

According to Iranian state media on Sunday, and an official post on X, the government has received a written response from the head of the FATF, confirming that it has instructed members to remove Iran from recommendation number 7. However, it seems that this does not mean Iran has been removed from the inter-state agency’s blacklist.

FATF Recommendation 7 is about targeted sanctions related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which requires countries to take the stated measures, such as confiscation of funds and assets of designated persons, without delay, in line with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

Resolution 2231 of the United Nations Security Council has replaced all previous resolutions of this council regarding Iran's nuclear program and it has also lifted the JCPOA sanctions related to the sale of weapons to Iran.

FATF identifies problematic and high-risk countries in terms of financial dealings. It lists countries, “with serious strategic deficiencies to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of proliferation. For all countries identified as high-risk, the FATF calls on all members and urges all jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence, and in the most serious cases, countries are called upon to apply counter-measures to protect the international financial system from the ongoing money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing risks emanating from the country.”

Image source: Mehr News