Iran conditionally approves Palermo Convention accession

Iran’s Expediency Council has conditionally approved the country’s accession to the Palermo Convention, one of the two key legislative items tied to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards aimed at addressing money laundering and terrorism financing.

The move could ease Iran’s exit from the international money laundering blacklist and restore access to global banking should Western sanctions against it be lifted.

In a brief statement, the council's spokesman Mohsen Dehnavi announced it had agreed to join the UN convention against transnational organized crime, “within the framework of the Constitution and domestic laws.”

The decision marks a cautious step toward meeting FATF requirements but falls short of full endorsement.

The council also confirmed that discussions on the related Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) bill will continue in upcoming sessions.

The move comes amid strong opposition from over 150 hardline lawmakers, who last month urged the Council to reject both conventions.

In a letter to Expediency Council chairman Sadeq Amoli Larijani, they argued that any approval—conditional or not—should wait until the risk of the UN “snapback” sanctions mechanism is entirely eliminated.

The snapback mechanism, which allows for the automatic reimposition of UN sanctions under the 2015 nuclear deal, is set to expire in October 2025 unless triggered by a signatory.

While Larijani recently hinted that conditional approval might be viable, conservative MPs have warned that even limited compliance could make Iran vulnerable to external pressure and economic penalties.

The FATF has kept Iran on its blacklist due to its failure to adopt international standards on money laundering and terror financing.