Is #FATF asking the Islamic Republic of Iran to change its constitution?

Since June 2016 FATF given the Islamic Republic of Iran the chance to meet its deficiencies or risk being subjected to the FATF countermeasures. In light of 2015 nuclear deal and by means, mediations and influences of powers in favour of the agreement at the time, the Islamic republic has received an exceptional treatment by the FATF in a very lenient and privileged manner. Despite all the regional and international supports, training and leading role the regime has played prior and after receiving the conditional treatment by FATF, ever since FATF has been patiently waiting for the Islamic regime to meet its short comings.

At the time FATF announced: "Iran will remain on the FATF Public Statement until the full Action Plan has been completed. Until Iran implements the measures required to address the deficiencies identified in the Action Plan, the FATF will remain concerned with the terrorist financing risk emanating from Iran and the threat this poses to the international financial system. The FATF, therefore, calls on its members and urges all jurisdictions to continue to advise their financial institutions to apply enhanced due diligence to business relationships and transactions with natural and legal persons from Iran, consistent with FATF Recommendation 19. The FATF urges Iran to fully address its AML/CFT deficiencies, in particular those related to terrorist financing.ⁱ"

However, despite all the chances given to the Islamic regime, what we can conclude from the regime actions in response to FATF moderate approach is nothing but playing smart with FATF in one hand and continue its aggressive agenda.

From direct involvement in the establishment of paramilitary organisations in its neighbouring countries, military presences and support of hardliners and militias, meddling and disrupting the neighbouring countries political and security establishments and playing a major role in the destabilisation of the region.

Such reckless and careless behaviours cannot be interpreted, in the way FATF did for close to four years, as an attempt of "high-level political commitment" for addressing the Islamic regime's strategic AML/CFT deficiencies. What we can read in FATF guideline has a big contrast with what we can list as the Islamic regime actions during all these years. The Islamic regime conducts are nothing but clear evidence of funding and direct support of terrorist organizations.

Unsurprisingly, the FATF action plan set for the Islamic regime to address its AML/CFT strategic deficiencies expired in January 2018 with no satisfactory result, however. Continuing its moderate approach toward the only known regime sponsoring terrorism openly, the FATF continued its monitoring regime until February 2020, and only then the FATF acknowledges the Islamic regime failed to address the fundamental such as:

1. Criminalizing terrorist financing, including by removing the exemption for designated groups which according to the Islamic regime constitution are "attempting to end foreign occupation, colonialism and racism".
2. Identifying and freezing terrorist assets in line with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
3. Ensuring an adequate and enforceable customer due diligence regime.
4. Demonstrating how authorities are identifying and sanctioning unlicensed money/value transfer service providers.
5. Ratifying and implementing the Palermo and TF Conventions and clarifying the capability to provide mutual legal assistance.
6. Ensuring that financial institutions verify that wire transfers contain complete originator and beneficiary information.

As someone familiar with the Islamic regime political, security and financial infrastructure who monitored the regime's regional agenda closely for more than a decade; I strongly consider such demands unrealistic at its core, let alone spending nearly four years to monitor and hope for their full implementation and addressing.

I can assure you the Islamic regime officials involved in negotiation with the FATF who stressed: "High-level political commitment" knowingly made false promises.

They did not believe in what they committed to since they knew FATF requests are against the foundation of their regime and beliefs. They lied, and they will keep lying since deception is a key principle of Shia Islam politic.

The Moderate/reformist Vs Hardliner/conservative, friend and foe game is noting that many western politicians are paying attention to it. It is a well-designed game which is set up approximately two decades ago by the Islamic regime strategist and still deceiving some naive western politician, by picturing a fake polarisation within the Islamic regime political system.

The "Good cop/Bad cop" routine by so-called Iranian regime ''factions'' if we even can call them factions, is a psycho-political game the Islamic regime stages for its national and global spectators. A duo with a long tale and not only in use at the time of elections to fool the nation but also when the regime is in need for buying time, miss guiding westerns, and misleading the media. These are the times when we see mainly the Moderate/reformist branded figures at the forefront of the Islamic regime in Iran diplomacy.

These personages are the one presenting false promises compatible with political norms and behaviour everyone expects from a legitimate government.

It is the case also with the FATF negotiation; A series of commitments by western educated, negotiation worthy, rational Moderate/reformist who promised: "High-level political commitment" which is not only in his capacity to deliver but also not believing in it. A cunning negotiator who deceives its counterpart at the negotiation table every time and after even failing to deliver his false promises returning to the negotiation tables and playing innocent in order to keep the negotiation option on the table for buying more time and wasting more money and energy. A deceiver who makes his counterpart to believe if they don't negotiate with him the evil part of the regime gains strength—the same devil for which he every time blames for his failure to deliver his commitments.

The cornerstone of the FATF action plan outlined for the Islamic regime is to "Adequately criminalising terrorist financing, including by removing the exemption for designated groups attempting to end foreign occupation, colonialism and racism".

The very first FATF demand is targeting the Achilles' heel of the Islamic regime. Based on the fundamental values and norms which formed the Islamic Republic of Iran ideology and codified as its constitution in December 1979, supporting the groups and organisations attempting to end foreign occupation, colonialism and racism is the religious and fundamental responsibility of the regime.

For decades this principle faced the international community with state-funded terrorism and support of the Islamic regime for such groups. The groups which the international community regards as terrorists collectively, but the Islamic regime disagrees since it is either the supporter of the funder of the groups. Therefore, the difference in the accounts should be addressed once and forever.

We should accept the fact that what we regard as terrorism and terrorist organisations not necessarily considered so by the Islamic regime in Iran. It is based on their understanding of terrorism and similarities they have in common ideology with those groups. Therefore, the question arose; how the EU is willing to have financial relationships with the Iranian regime using its new platform INSTEX?

What FATF is expecting from the regime in Iran is not simply denouncing the terrorism and terrorist organisations and stop supporting their allies and the groups they have established and supported in the last four decades. FATF is asking the Islamic regime to change its nature, values, norms and consequently its constitutionⁱⁱ. It is asking the regime to rebrand itself, which is impossible since it will jeopardise its existence.

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