Speaking to reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting, Ansari said joining the convention would empower the Judiciary and the president’s office for legal affairs to file stronger legal cases on terrorist acts targeting Iran and to prosecute Israel as a terrorist entity.
He added that one of the possible outcomes of joining the convention could be Iran’s removal from the FATF blacklist and placement on the grey list, though he noted that sanctions have reduced the significance of this issue for Iran.
Ansari underlined that Iran already has stricter domestic laws concerning the issues addressed in the Palermo and CFT bills.
He said Iran has long been a victim of terrorism and that earlier ratification of such conventions could have helped the country legally pursue terrorist groups like the MKO, which has killed over 17,000 Iranians.
On another issue, Ansari confirmed that the court of appeal has upheld the initial verdict in the Crescent case. He further expressed hope that through diplomacy or settlement, Iran could recover assets belonging to its oil pension fund.