Iran's Economy Minister Asks FATF to Protest at US Financing of Terrorist Acts

Iranian Economy Minister Farhad Dejpasand called on the Financial Action Task Force to protest at the US allocation of a budget for terrorist acts like assassination of IRGC Qods Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

"The FATF which claims to confront financing terrorism should notice that now the president of a country (the US) has declared that they will allocate a budget for terrorist acts and they want to use it," Dejpasand said in Tehran on Tuesday.

He referred to the "insolent" assassination of General Soleimani by the US as an Iranian official on a formal visit to Iraq, noting, "They, themselves, said that the attack has been funded by the government budget."

"This is against the international laws and all bodies, including the FATF, should protest and confront it," Dejpasand said.

Lieutenant General Soleimani was martyred in a targeted assassination attack by the US drones at Baghdad International Airport early on Friday morning.

The airstrike also martyred Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), or Hashad al-Shaabi. The PMF media arm said the two were martyred in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.

Five Iranian and five Iraqi militaries were martyred by missiles fired by the US drone at Baghdad International Airport.

The Pentagon confirmed the attack in a statement.

The attack came amid tensions that started by the US attack on PMF units that killed 28 Iraqi popular forces. A day later, Iraqi people attacked the US embassy in Baghdad. On Wednesday President Donald Trump ordered about 750 US soldiers deployed to the Middle East.

US officials earlier suggested they were to engage in further retaliatory attacks in Iraq.

The developments also represent a major downturn in Iraq-US relations that could further undermine US influence in the region and American troops in Iraq and weaken Washington’s hand in its pressure campaign against Iran.

US President Donald Trump was vacationing on his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, but sent out a tweet of an American flag.

The attack represents a dramatic escalation by the US toward Iran after months of tensions. The tensions take root in Trump’s decision in May 2018 to withdraw the US from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, struck under his predecessor.