Joining FATF ‘not expedient for Iran’

Ali Akbar Velayati who was speaking to the press on the sidelines of his meeting with Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator on Sunday, believed that Iran should not necessarily comply with rulings of international financial institutions as their rulings would be unjust and would target country’s officials; “the international financial institutions definitely seek to deprive Iran of international financial privileges and hence economic activities, bodies which should be defied,” he told the press.   On his meeting with UN under secretary-general, Velayati told reporters that the meeting had addressed innocent civilians killed by natural disasters and wars; “part of the US is responsible for saving these civilians of their plights; during past decades, the number of civilians subject to disasters has quadrupled, reaching 260 million people especially in the Middle East, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and elsewhere,” he detailed.   “The UN has requested that Iran, given its influence over these regions, work with the UN in saving people from dangerous environments,” Mr. Velayati added.   On the issue of sanctions hitting Iran’s Mellat and Sepah Banks, Leader’s senior adviser said that these banks as well as IRGC’s Quds and Khatam al-Anbia headquarters had been pioneers of fighting Zionism and for the very reason, sanctions targeted them, which he believed, would not change their unswerving dedication to the Resistance front. On joining FATF, Velayati responded that it was not expedient for the country to join the Task Force and any decision to join it should be postponed.