Netherlands lodge objection to Iran's terror financing reservations

The Kingdom of the Netherlands lodged an objection on August 7, 2026, with the Secretary-General of the United Nations against the reservations and declarations made by the Islamic Republic of Iran upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. The Federal Foreign Office officially published this step via a notification dated August 27, 2026, in the Federal Law Gazette Part II No. 180 of September 2, 2026. The objection concerns a core instrument of international law in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

International Legal Framework

The subject is the International United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism of December 9, 1999, which was put into force in Germany through the notification BGBl. 2003 II p. 1923, 1924. The Secretary-General of the United Nations acts as the depositary of the Convention and receives the reservations, declarations, and objections of the contracting states.

The Dutch objection is directed against the reservations and declarations that Iran had made upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification. These had previously been documented in the notification of November 11, 2025 (BGBl. 2025 II No. 281). The new notification follows the notification of August 13, 2026 (BGBl. 2026 II No. 166).

Content of the Objection

With the objection, The Hague opposes the reservations formulated by Tehran, which restrict the application of central obligations of the Convention. Such reservations can affect the scope of the criminalization of terrorist financing, mutual legal assistance, or extradition, and thereby weaken the effectiveness of the international sanctions and money laundering regime.

• Objection lodged on August 7, 2026, with the Secretary-General of the United Nations
• Affected reservations of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the notification of November 11, 2025
• Publication in the Federal Law Gazette Part II No. 180 of September 2, 2026
• Signed on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office by Dr. Julia Monar

Official Publication

The notification is dated August 27, 2026, and was signed in Berlin by the Federal Foreign Office. The publisher of the gazette is the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. The reservations and declarations of the contracting states, with the exception of those of Germany, are not printed in the Federal Law Gazette Part II; they can be viewed in English and French on the United Nations website at treaties.un.org.

The objection by the Netherlands underscores the diplomatic volatility of the Iranian reservations and sends a clear signal to the international community: the effectiveness of the 1999 Convention must not be undermined by unilateral restrictions imposed by individual states. For German companies and financial institutions, this process is a further indication of the tightening compliance requirements in the area of combating the financing of terrorism and money laundering.

Source: Federal Law Gazette Part II, No. 180 of September 2, 2026, Announcement regarding the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (official reference: BGBl. 2026 II No. 180).