Iran's parliament addressed one of the country's most contested issues Oct. 7, approving a bill against the funding of terrorism. Such a measure is a precondition to be removed from the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The bill's supporters believe the measure will help ease the impact of US sanctions, giving Iran more access to international banks and helping it achieve greater financial transparency. Critics, however, argue that Iran has given up its independence and is once again looking to Western countries to resolve its economic problems at home.

The FATF measures as a whole have been a hot topic in Iran over past years. Parliament debated this counterterrorism financing bill for four months, before 143 parliamentarians voted in favor, with 120 against and five abstaining. There are a total of 290 seats in parliament. The conservative-dominated Guardian Council must still approve the bill before it becomes law. 

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke on the parliament floor, responding to the bill's critics, who claim it imposes demands on Iran on behalf of Western powers. “Three days ago the president of Russia’s central bank told us that without [approval of] FATF [measures] we cannot work with you,” he said Oct. 7. “FATF is one of the most important problems and even our friends say this. The Chinese have no problems with us, from an international perspective, China has many positions similar to the Islamic Republic. China and Russia are Iran’s strategic partners.”

The opponents of the bill are a mixed group, though all are opposed to President Hassan Rouhani's administration and, in general, to greater financial transparency.