A conservative Iranian lawmaker said parliament is reviewing an emergency motion to stop the implementation of Iran’s conditional approval to join a United Nations convention against terror financing, arguing it would expose the country’s sanction-busting networks.
Mojtaba Zonouri, a member of parliament from Qom, said on Friday the measure on joining the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) remains suspended in parliament, and that a “triple-urgency motion” submitted by Tehran lawmaker Malek Shariati is under review to prevent it from taking effect.
“As long as we are forced to bypass sanctions to meet the country’s needs, joining the CFT is like putting a rope around our own necks,” Zonouri said, according to Iranian media. He added that Iran could join the convention only “when sanctions are fully lifted.”
His remarks come after Iran’s Expediency Council — the body overseen by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that resolves disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council — conditionally approved the country’s accession to the UN convention earlier this month, after years of delay.
The CFT, one of the 49 measures linked to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, requires countries to track and report financial transactions to combat money laundering and terror financing. Hardliners argue that joining would expose Iran’s financial channels used to evade sanctions and support allied armed groups across the Middle East.
The conditional approval followed the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran on September 28 under the nuclear deal’s snapback mechanism. In April, over 150 lawmakers had urged the Council to reject the convention until “the risk of renewed sanctions is entirely eliminated.”
The United States has long accused Tehran of using its regional allies to fund and coordinate attacks across the region, labeling Iran the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism for 39 consecutive years.
The incident had not previously been reported.
Hooman Kiani, a student at Isfahan University of Applied Science and Technology, was returning home with a friend when their car came under fire from Basij forces, a volunteer militia under Iran’s Revolutionary Guards according to the Amir Kabir Newsletter.
“Around 11 PM, their car was stopped at a checkpoint in the Mardavij neighborhood,” the newsletter quoted a family member as saying.
“The driver stopped a little late, and the officers opened fire without any warning. Two bullets struck Hooman in the lungs and liver, and his friend was hit in the leg.”
The report said Kiani was taken to Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan, where doctors performed surgery, but he did not survive his injuries.
"Emergency staff began resuscitation efforts and Hooman underwent surgery, but due to extensive bleeding and severe liver damage, he went into cardiac arrest and lost his life" the family member said.
Amir Kabir Newsletter also published a copy of Kiani’s official burial permit issued by Isfahan’s Legal Medicine Organization, which listed the cause of death as “hemorrhagic shock,” “injury to the liver and lungs” and a “gunshot wound,” with the date of death recorded as June 15, 2025.
The newsletter added the family has demanded an explanation from authorities over why Basij forces “fired directly at the car” and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
In a similar incident during the 12 day war, guards at a military base in the central Iranian city of Khomein mistakenly opened fire on two civilian vehicles, killing four people on July 17. State media said the shooters were arrested and a judicial investigation was launched.
In another earlier incident, on July 2, two young men were shot dead by the Islamic Republic's security forces outside Hamedan in western Iran.
Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, reported that personnel opened fire on their vehicle near the Tareek-Darreh area after suspecting it of drone-related activity.