In a Monday editorial, the hardline Kayhan newspaper, closely aligned with Iran's conservative establishment, warned President Masoud Pezeshkian against meeting with American officials during the UN General Assembly.
Pezeshkian reiterated that joining the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), reviving the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), and improving international relations are crucial for removing barriers to foreign investment and trade. He emphasized that these steps are essential for achieving the goals outlined in Iran's 20-year Vision Plan (2005-2025). Pezeshkian also pledged to formally request that the Expediency Council prioritize FATF accession on its agenda.
Without accession to several international financial conventions demanded by FATF, Iran cannot have full access to global banking, normal trade relations and investments by large global companies.
In 2018, the Parliament approved two pieces of legislation that the FATF required to take Iran off of its black list. The hardline Constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, however, rejected the legislation and the issue was referred for arbitration to the Expediency Council which has has not acted to date. Two other laws were never approved by parliament.
Iran has been on the money-laundering watchdog’s blacklist since February 2020.
Hardliners, ultra-hardliners, and their supporters in the parliament, media, and across social media platforms have reacted forcefully to Pezeshkian’s remarks. A political analyst in Tehran told Iran International that powerful individuals whose financial interests will suffer from transparency are the main driving force behind the opposition to accession to FATF. They also prefer economic sanctions to remain in place because as regime insiders they make money by circumventing trade and banking restrictions.
Iranian media and politicians often refer to individuals who make huge profits from selling Iran's oil in international black markets as “profiteers of sanctions”. The extent of such dealings, and profits involved, was revealed in 2013 when business magnate Babak Zanjani was arrested for withholding at least $2.7 billion of the proceeds of sanctioned oil sales on behalf of the Oil Ministry.
Authorities claim Zanjani whose death sentence was commuted to twenty years in prison in April “with the approval of the Supreme Leader” has returned the embezzled money.
“Khamenei did initially oppose Rouhani’s insistence on the necessity of accession to the FATF but without his consent, the parliament could not have passed the two pieces of legislation in 2018 despite the extreme opposition of hardliners,” the political analyst said.
He also pointed out that at the time, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani told lawmakers expressly that there was no objection from the Leader’s Office to the controversial legislation.
“Oligarchs like Zanjani are now many. Bloomberg’s recent revelation of the role that Hossein Shamkhani is now playing as the top seller of sanctioned oil in global markets is very telling of the extent of these individual’s influence,” he added.
Ali Shamkhani, Hossein Shamkhani’s father, served as Iran's National Security Council for almost a decade until May 2023.
In a speech at the Parliament on September 17, Mahmoud Nabavian, an ultra-hardliner Paydari Party lawmaker, claimed that the international money-laundering watchdog requires Iran to “announce” that the “Qods Force's, [slain commander Qasem] Soleimani, the people of Gaza and Hamas, Yemen and all resistance forces are terrorists.”
Nabavian, an ally of Saeed Jalili who ran against Pezeshkian in the recent elections also insisted that FATF accession means that information on all of Iran's financial activities and trade should be provided to the US and other countries.
“This means identification and full obstruction of all the trade paths of the Iranian nation,” he said.
Speaking to Mehr news agency Tuesday, Mostafa Mirsalim, a hardliner politician and member of the Expediency Council, contended that joining the FATF would be more damaging than not joining it unless the US, which has listed the IRGC and “resistance front” as terrorist organizations, lifts its sanctions and “ends its hostility” with the Islamic Republic.
In one of the election debates in June, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a conservative candidate, alleged that then secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Saeed Jalili, had been the major force behind the rejection of accession to financial conventions since 2016.
Pezeshkian’s hardliner predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi, in whose government Jalili wielded much influence from behind the scenes also criticized the Rouhani administration, claiming that trade problems were better solved by relying on “neighbors and friendly countries” including China and Russia, and scraping the use of the dollar.
While also emphasizing trade and good relations with “neighbors and friends”, Pezeshkian and his government appear to be determined about joining the FATF.
Dubbed the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, nationwide demonstrations erupted in Iran after the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini while in the custody of the state’s notorious "morality police," who enforce the mandatory Islamic hijab. Over the following months, security forces killed more than 500 people and jailed tens of thousands.
In memory of the victims killed on September 21, 2022, the advocacy group Victims' Families for Transitional Justice (VFFTJ) published the names of those killed, calling it "the darkest day" of the month.
"The peak of the crackdown was two years ago today when they killed at least 55 people in a single day," said Mahsa Piraei, a member of VFFTJ, in an interview with Iran International English on Saturday. Piraei’s mother, Minoo Majidi, was fatally shot by state security forces during protests in Kermanshah, western Iran.
"Those are just the names we know," Piraei added. "Many are still too afraid to even acknowledge that their child or family member was killed," she emphasized, highlighting the ongoing fear and repression that continues to silence the families of victims.
At Amini's funeral on September 17, 2022, in Saqqez, Kurdistan province, crowds chanted anti-regime slogans, echoing the protests that had already erupted in Tehran. Fueled by widespread anger over women's rights and decades of government repression, these demonstrations quickly spread across the nation.
Soran Mansournia, a member of VFFTJ and the brother of Borhan Mansournia, who was killed during Iran’s November 2019 protests, reflected on the state’s response, describing the mass killings of protesters during two key phases of the 2022 uprising.
“During the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement, the number of people killed on the streets was very high in two main periods—the first in late September and the second in late November 2022," Mansournia said in an interview with Iran International English.
"In late September 2022, the government sought to scare the public by severely suppressing protesters, hoping to prevent the spread of demonstrations to other cities. This led to the killing of many Iranian citizens over two days, September 21 and 22, with at least 55 people killed on September 21 alone."
Mansournia noted that a second wave of intensified crackdowns occurred in late November 2022 when people took to the streets to mark the anniversary of the November 2019 protests, during which at least 1,500 protesters were killed by state security forces.
"By early November 2022, the protests had subsided, and a sense of downturn had set in," Mansournia recounted. "As the third anniversary of Bloody November approached, people spontaneously called for a return to the streets, especially to remember those killed in November 2019, reigniting the protests."
In response, the Islamic Republic once again unleashed its security forces. “Many people across Iran took to the streets again, and unfortunately, this resulted in yet another large number of deaths, especially in the final days of November 2022,” Mansournia said.
"These two periods—late September and late November—were the bloodiest phases of the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement during the six to seven months of protests," Mansournia emphasized.
Human rights organizations estimate that of the at least 551 protesters killed, 68 were children and 49 were women.
State's crackdown on victim’s families on second anniversary of slain protestors
Amid the state’s clampdown, which includes threats and arrests of victims' families—this year targeting Amini’s family as well—some managed to hold small gatherings on Saturday to commemorate the second anniversary of their loved ones killed.
The state's pressure on families continues, however, as highlighted by the recent arrest of Mina Soltani, mother of slain protester Shahryar Mohammadi, and the intimidation of many others into silence.
Piraei highlighted the state's crackdown on victims' families, attributing it to fears of renewed protests during anniversaries. "This is exactly what the authorities fear could happen again, which is why the Islamic Republic prevents victims' families from holding memorials," she said.
"The regime knows that the families of those killed have widespread support, and they fear the protests could reignite," she added.
As seen during last year’s first-anniversary protests, the crackdown has followed a familiar pattern, with ongoing detentions and increasing pressure on those trying to honor their loved ones.
On Sunday, Gohar Eshghi, the mother of Sattar Beheshti—a blogger who died under torture in custody in 2012—announced she would begin a hunger strike outside the UN office in Tehran to protest the arrests of families of slain protesters.
In a video message, Eshghi expressed her solidarity with the families of Mina Soltani, Mashallah Karami, and Pouya Bakhtiari, as well as with all the children imprisoned by the regime.
Eshghi declared, "Tomorrow, I will go on strike outside the United Nations. If [Supreme Leader]Ali Khamenei’s mercenaries don’t allow me, I will go on strike outside Imamzadeh Saleh...My life for Iran."
Notably, memorials held on Saturday saw families act in defiance of security forces, as families continue to honor their loved ones.
Maryam, the sister of Roozbeh Khademian, who was killed in Karaj during the protests, released a dove at her brother’s grave.
"Two years have passed, and the pain remains unbearable," she said. Videos of Saeed Mohammadi’s mother singing a mournful song at her son’s grave in Kermanshah were shared on social media, capturing the deep heartbreak that still lingers.
Milad Mogouyi, the brother of Mahsa Mogouyi, who was killed during the revolutionary uprising, posted a video on Instagram commemorating the second anniversary of his sister’s death. He wrote, “On the second anniversary of September 2022, when we lost so many of our loved ones, we gathered at your grave to remind you that we will remember you until our last breath, and your blood will not have been shed in vain.”
Mansournia paid tribute to 15-year-old protester Amir Hossein Basati, who was fatally shot by state security forces on September 21, 2022, by sharing a video of Basati drawing his last breaths on a pavement in Kermanshah.
The editorial, penned by Hossein Shariatmadari, managing editor of Kayhan and representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the newspaper, claimed that the reformist figures who advised President Pezeshkian to hold such "humiliating meetings" with US leaders might be plotting against him.
Shariatmadari also criticized media outlets aligned with “reformists” for suggesting that Pezeshkian meet with US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
Pezeshkian, who arrived in New York on Sunday for the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, emphasized his commitment to “diplomacy and global peace” in a statement upon his arrival. He stated, "Instead of bloodshed and war, we must create a world where all people can live comfortably."
In his editorial, Shariatmadari linked the proposal to a broader critique of US actions against Tehran, citing the killing of former IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, ongoing sanctions, Washington's withdrawal from the JCPOA, and its failure to acknowledge Pezeshkian’s election. He suggested that the advice might be motivated by a desire to take "revenge for Ebrahim Raisi's revolutionary positions."
The editorial also accused a faction within Iran of seeking to align the country with the US and Western powers, even 45 years after the 1979 revolution. Shariatmadari described these individuals as "Western puppets hiding within the Islamic Republic."
However, Pezeshkian said that his trip to New York was focused on “promoting values that the UN itself claims to uphold.” He challenged the organization “to demonstrate its commitment to these values through actions, not just words.” Pezeshkian also added that his objective at the UN is “to counter negative portrayals of the Islamic Republic.”
Pezeshkian said that “Iran is much safer and freer than its critics suggest,” adding that he would engage with the Iranian diaspora and work to “neutralize” what he described as a misleading image of Iran that is presented in the West. "Reality is not what they present through television screens, podiums, or international forums," Pezeshkian stated.
On Saturday, some news websites including Modara and Tejarat News reported that Pezeshkian was accompanied by a delegation, , including his two sons, daughter, and son-in-law.
Fada-Hossein Maleki, a member of Iran's Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, suggested that Pezeshkian’s interviews with Western media during his visit to New York could influence the US elections.
Before departing for New York, Pezeshkian accused the UN of “failing to fulfill its responsibilities,” particularly in addressing what he called "Israel’s crimes."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in New York ahead of Pezeshkian, participated in meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly, focusing on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza. Araghchi met with high-level officials from Kuwait, Bahrain, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, discussing regional stability, security, and Israel’s actions in Gaza and southern Lebanon. He also held talks with representatives from the UN, including officials responsible for humanitarian aid to Gaza, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the UN’s Syria envoy.
On September 19, Reuters, citing three Iranian officials, reported that Pezeshkian, on his first trip to the West since his election, would carry a message signaling that "Tehran is open to diplomacy", while emphasizing that Tehran will not bow to pressure.
The report anticipated that Iranian and European officials at the UN would discuss potential pathways for returning to diplomatic efforts concerning Iran's nuclear program, while also aiming to ease tensions with Israel. However, there has been no indication of interest from Europe or the US in resuming negotiations.
Pezeshkian is set to address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday during the opening day of the high-level General Debate session.
