Looking to avoid further international sanctions, 143 out of 268 Iranian lawmakers voted on Sunday to join a global initiative to end terrorist funding, including loopholes for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Known as the “Combating the Financing of Terrorism,” the international convention “involves investigating, analyzing, deterring and preventing sources of funding for activities intended to achieve political, religious or ideological goals through violence and the threat of violence against civilians,” according to the online site Investopedia.
“Both opponents of the bill and foreign-media reports failed to recognize that the bill carves out exemptions for the specific purpose of facilitating funds to support Hamas, Hezbollah and other groups designated abroad as terrorist organizations,” according to Saeed Ghasseminejad, Toby Dershowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“To that end, the bill excludes ‘struggles against colonial dominance and foreign occupation’ from its definition of terrorism,” they added. “The bill even acknowledges it will not fully comply with clause 1.b in Article 2 of the CFT, which prohibits any act ‘intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict.’ ”
The United States is scheduled to slap its second round of sanctions on the regime on Nov. 4.