During the conversation with Secretary-General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway Tore Hattrem on Wednesday afternoon, Araqchi referred to the global outbreak of the coronavirus and the need for all countries to work together to deal with it.

Beside discussing ties, the official in Norway also pointed to Washington’s unilateral sanctions against Iran in these difficult conditions and called on the international community to address this illegal and inhumane act by the United States.

The two sides further talked about bilateral relations, as well as regional and international developments. The next round of political consultations between the two countries in Oslo, the regional developments, including the Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE), peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, the latest situation in Iraq, and the need to continue humanitarian aid for Yemen were among other issues discussed in the telephone call.

The Norwegian official also expressed his sympathy for the Iranian government and people’s battle with the coronavirus and highlighted his country’s policy of multilateralism in the global arena and its assistance to international organizations to ensure the health of people.

Hattrem called for continued consultations with Iran on security and stability in the Persian Gulf and West Asia.

The Norwegian diplomat also invited the Iranian diplomat to visit Oslo after the coronavirus crisis which was welcomed by Araqchi.

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“Opposition and failure of acting despite regulations of the FATF is harmful to the country and will make the situation of the country worse and will add to the economic problems. So, this issue must not be viewed just from political and factional aspects. There should be a more comprehensive view on the country’s interests,” Davoud Hermidas-Bavand, professor of political science and international law, told ISNA in an interview published on Wednesday.

He noted that failure to conform to banking and financial standards will cause serious problems.

However, Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of the Expediency Council, said on Wednesday that politicizing the issue of FATF and exerting pressure on the council to approve it are “suspicious”. Rezaee said the issue is being discussed by the opponents and proponents in the council.

On December 24, Rezaee said that Palermo and CFT bills are still under assessment in the council. “The FATF-related bills (Palermo and CFT) are still under evaluation in the Expediency Council, so, I can’t say anything now (about the outcome of assessment),” Rezaee said, according to Fars.

Diako Hosseini, director of the World Studies Program at the presidential Centre for Strategic Studies, told IRNA in an interview published on Monday that being blacklisted by the FATF will have serious consequences.

“The consequences can be equal to return to the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions against Iran,” Hosseini said.

He noted that a wise decision must be taken regarding the country’s situation.

Abolfazl Soroush, a member of the Hope parliamentary faction, told ISNA in an interview published on Saturday that joining the FATF will prevent the economic isolation of Iran.

“The truth is that Iran’s joining to the FATF will not result in a miracle, however, it will prevent worsening of the country’s economic situation,” he said.

He noted that joining the FATF does not mean an end to the United States’ sanctions, however, it will prevent more economic pressure on the country.

Mehdi Zakarian, an expert on international relations, also told IRNA in an interview published on Saturday that “standards of the FATF have turned into an international convention in countering corruption and money laundering, and Iran is required to join it in order to be present at the international arena.”

Hossein Abbasinejad, the dean of the faculty of economics at the University of Tehran, also told IRNA in an interview published on Saturday that it is wise to take a decision in line with the country’s interests.

He said that refusing to approve bills related the FATF will cause more economic problems for the country.

The FATF must be studied regardless of factional disputes, Abbasinejad noted.

In a letter to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a number of MPs have pushed for the approval of the FATF by the Expediency Council.

MP Shahabuddin Bimeghdar told IRNA on Wednesday that it is said in the letter that being blacklisted by the FATF will isolate the economy which is already restricted by the United States’ “cruel sanctions”.

The MPs said failure to join the FATF will cause “closure of the bank accounts in foreign countries”, “accusations of money laundering against the country”, “international distrust”, “financial and banking crisis”, “inefficiency of Iranian bank branches in foreign countries” and also “destabilization in stock exchange market”.

In October 2018, the parliament voted to join the FATF. However, the Guardian Council rejected it. Now the ball is in the Expediency Council’s court.

When there is a dispute between parliament and the Guardian Council the issue is referred to as the Expediency Council for final arbitration.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said on October 18 that it has given Iran a final deadline of February 2020 to tighten its laws against money laundering in compliance with the global watchdog’s financial standards.

“If before February 2020, Iran does not enact the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions in line with the FATF Standards, then the FATF will fully lift the suspension of counter-measures and call on its members and urge all jurisdictions to apply effective counter-measures, in line with recommendation 19,” the FATF said in a statement, Reuters reported.

The government is pushing for the approval of the FATF.

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“In this situation, protecting independence and power of the foreign policy and also relying on domestic economy and capacities are Iran’s important priorities,” Sanaei said in a press conference in Moscow.

Iran’s top diplomat in Moscow also said it was “natural” that Iran decided to reduce its commitments to the JCPOA, the official name for the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran has started to partially reduce its commitments to the JCPOA in response to the United States which abandoned the landmark deal in May 2018 and reinstituted sanctions.

And, since April 2019, the Trump administration has gone beyond the pre-JCPOA sanctions to impose measures that would reduce Iran’s oil export income “to zero.” U.S. secondary sanctions now apply to virtually every civilian sector of Iran’s economy.

“The United States violated the JCPOA and the Europeans do not take enough actions to preserve the deal. So, how do you think Iran should behave?” the ambassador asked.

So far, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has taken four steps to cut back commitments in accordance with paragraph 36 of the JCPOA which “allows one side, under certain circumstances, to stop complying with the deal if the other side is out of compliance.”

Top officials in Tehran have repeatedly said if the European Union shields Iran’s economy from the sanctions affect the country will reverse its decision.

Under the JCPOA, Iran promised to put limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for termination of economic and financial sanctions.

On May 8, exactly one year after the U.S. abandoned the deal, Tehran announced that its “strategic patience” is over and began to partially reduce its commitments to the agreement at bi-monthly intervals.

In the first stage, Iran announced that it will not limit its stockpile of the nuclear fuel to 300 kilograms allowed under the deal. On that date (May 8) Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said if the remaining parties to the JCPOA, especially Europeans, devise a mechanism to protect Iran from the sanctions’ effect in the two-month deadline it will reverse its decision.

But since European parties missed the deadline, on July 7 Iran announced that it has started enriching uranium to a higher purity than the 3.67%, thereby starting the second step.

Again, as Europe missed the second 60-day deadline, Iran moved to take the third step, removing a ban on nuclear research and development (R&D).

In the latest step, which started on November 6, Iran began injecting uranium gas into 1,044 centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear site. It was done at the presence of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said on Monday that no one can question Iran for deciding to scale down its commitments to the JCPOA.

In a panel discussion in Tokyo, he said that Iran’s action in reducing nuclear commitments does not mean quitting the JCPOA.

“The current situation is the result of the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA and the only solution to it is the removal of sanctions and return to diplomacy,” the top diplomat noted.

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