New Multilateral Consensus Emerges on Iran
By Matthew Levitt
In an article co-authored with my colleague Patrick Clawson, I argue that two new reports indicate that a new multilateral consensus is emerging on Iran. A February 18 report from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based organization that sets global standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing, revealed new details about Iran's ongoing activities in both realms. The same day, a new report from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached disturbing conclusions about Iran's past nuclear efforts while raising intriguing questions about technical problems the regime may be encountering. As global powers debate a fourth round of UN sanctions on Iran, these reports demonstrate growing international consensus on the nature of Iran's illicit conduct.
To support its weapons programs, democracy crackdown, and terrorist proxies, Tehran has continued to engage in deceptive financial conduct aimed at raising, moving, hiding, and accessing funds internationally. Last week, FATF took an important step when it named Iran to its new blacklist. In line with the G-20's call to protect the international financial system from abuse, the blacklist identifies countries with deficient "anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism" (AML/CFT) measures. In fact, Iran received special designation on the blacklist -- it is the only country whose illicit financial conduct merited a call for international countermeasures. The revitalization of the controversial but highly effective blacklist tool underscores FATF's past assessment of Iran and echoes warnings from the United States and elsewhere about the potential costs of doing business with Iran.
The full article is available here.
