Hassan Rouhani (right) and Sadeq Larijani (left) at the parliament in Tehran Iran. (photo credit: REUTERS)
X ![]()
Dear Reader,
As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analyses from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.
As one of our loyal readers, we ask you to be our partner.
For $5 a month you will receive access to the following:
- A user experience almost completely free of ads
- Access to our Premium Section
- Content from the award-winning Jerusalem Report and our monthly magazine to learn Hebrew – Ivrit
- A brand new ePaper featuring the daily newspaper as it appears in print in Israel
Help us grow and continue telling Israel’s story to the world.
Thank you,
Ronit Hasin-Hochman, CEO, Jerusalem Post Group
Yaakov Katz, Editor-in-Chief
UPGRADE YOUR JPOST EXPERIENCE FOR 5$ PER MONTH Show me later
WASHINGTON – A broad American sanctions campaign has prompted contentious political debate in Iran on whether to reform its policy toward “terrorism” financing, and to what extent.
The Iranian parliament on Sunday passed a bill, with a vote of 143 to 120, to accede to the UN’s International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, pending final approval from the nation’s Guardian Council. The move comes amid pressure on the government of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani from banks and private sector businesses to demonstrate a change in direction from its longstanding policy of supporting armed extremist and political opposition groups worldwide.
At the heart of their debate is the definition of terrorism itself. Tehran claims an exception to the UN convention’s characterization of terrorist organizations, and asserts that violence in the name of national liberation does not constitute terrorism.
Thus the Trump administration has dismissed the Iranian debate, and according to one senior administration official, sees no signs of reform from the Rouhani government ahead of a November deadline for the reimposition of harsh US sanctions on Iran’s oil and gas sector.
For the moment, however, Tehran seems more focused on meeting standards set by Brussels than by those in Washington. European Commission officials say their case for continuing sanctions relief on Iran under a 2015 nuclear deal will be made easier if Iran meets the standards of an intergovernmental organization known as the Financial Action Task Force. This has been a priority for Rouhani, according to state media.
But in consecutive speeches from the president, national security adviser and secretary of state, the US government has laid out a clear bar for change that the Iranians swear they will not meet: an end to their support for militant organizations destabilizing nations across the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Israel.
As a practical matter, this is the only standard that will matter to the businesses and financial institutions that will soon be forced to choose between access to the Iranian and US marketplaces.
JPOST VIDEOS THAT MIGHT INTEREST YOU:
Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>
Comments are closed.