Iran’s Khameni advises parliament to pass own anti-money laundering law

Iran has been attempting to implement standards set by Financial Action Task Force, a global group of government anti-money-laundering agencies. (AFP)
Updated 20 June 2018
Follow

Iran’s Khameni advises parliament to pass own anti-money laundering law

BEIRUT: Iran’s Supreme Leader advised members of parliament on Wednesday to pass their own legislation to combat money laundering, decreasing chances that laws based on requirements by the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will be passed.
“Some of these treaties have useful parts, it’s not a problem,” Aytollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech to members of parliament, according to a transcript published on his official website. “The solution for this issue is that the parliament should make up its own law. For example, a law for fighting money laundering. There is no need for us to accept things that we don’t know where they will end up.”
Iran has been attempting to implement standards set by FATF, a global group of government anti-money-laundering agencies, in the hopes it will be removed from a blacklist that makes some foreign investors reluctant to deal with the country.


Syrian government, Kurdish forces announce integration deal

Updated 39 min 50 sec ago
Follow

Syrian government, Kurdish forces announce integration deal

  • Under the agreement, forces that had amassed on front lines in the country’s north would pull back
  • Security forces ‌will deploy to the ‌centers ⁠of the ‌cities of Hasakah and Qamishli in the northeast

DAMASCUS: The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led group the Syrian Democratic Forces said on Friday they had ​agreed to a comprehensive ceasefire and a phased integration of military and administrative bodies into the Syrian state under a broad deal.

Under the agreement, forces that had amassed on front lines in the country’s north would pull back and Interior ‌Ministry security forces ‌will deploy to the ‌centers ⁠of ​the ‌cities of Hasakah and Qamishli in the northeast, both currently held by the SDF. Local security forces will be merged.

The sides announced the deal after Syrian government forces under President Ahmed Al-Sharaa captured swathes of northern and eastern ⁠Syria from the SDF this month, forcing the ‌Kurdish forces to retreat into a ‍shrinking enclave.

The agreement ‍includes the formation of a military division ‍that will include three SDF brigades, in addition to the formation of a brigade for forces in the SDF-held town of Kobani, also known ​as Ain Al-Arab, which will be affiliated to the governorate of Aleppo.

“The agreement ⁠aims to unify Syrian territory and achieve full integration in the region by strengthening cooperation between the concerned parties and unifying efforts to rebuild the country,” according to the deal as announced by the SDF.

A senior Syrian government official told Reuters the deal was final and had been reached late on Thursday night, and that implementation was to begin ‌immediately.