Rasa – The member of the Expediency Discernment Council, announced the reasons for postponing the decision of the Council in regard to the Palermo Convention and announced the possibility of a meeting of the Council after the beginning of the Iranian new year. RNA – In an exclusive interview with Rasa News Agency, Ayatollah Mohsen Mojtahed-Shabestari, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, referred to the details of the meeting of the Expediency Discernment Council on March 3rd and said, “During this meeting, a vote in regard to the Palermo Convention didn’t occur and it was delayed once again.”
The representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in East Azerbaijan province explained the reason for not voting on the Palermo Convention, “The main reason for the postponement is to see how the Europeans behave in terms of their obligations. The European financial mechanism, called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges [INSTEX], isn’t enough because in regard to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], Europe has commitments that haven’t been met.”
Ayatollah Mojtahed-Shabestari said that we have to wait to see if Europe fulfills its obligations or not and added, “If Europe doesn’t comply with its obligations, an appropriate decision will be made.”
His Eminence continued, “Another reason for reviewing the issue of Combating the Financing of Terrorism [CFT] in the Expediency Discernment Council is so that the necessary reviews are made in the commission and so that an appropriate decision can be made in regard to the Palermo Convention and the CFT.”
He said the time of the next meeting of the Expediency Discernment Council has not yet been announced and said that the next meeting is likely to held in the new Iranian year, which begins on March 21. “Perhaps it was thought that most members of the Expediency Discernment Council would not be present,” he said.
Ayatollah Mojtahed-Shabestari said, “The current financial mechanism of the Europeans, which favours oil over food and medicine, isn’t worth it, and Europe must comply with its obligations, and if it doesn’t, an appropriate decision will be taken.”
Rasa News Agency
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