Government bans Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been labelled a threat to national security, with those carrying out acts of sabotage on their behalf facing life imprisonment, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said.
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The move is designed to tackle Iranian-backed groups recruiting criminals for acts targeting the Jewish community.
It come after “activity linked to the IRGC involving threats to life and intimidation on UK soil".
The government said that the IMCR “almost certainly” directed recent attacks against the Jewish community in London.
The Government is laying draft regulations before Parliament to designate (as a threat to national security) the IRGC along with two other groups – the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Volunteer Corps.
The GRU, the Russian military intelligence unit, will also be designated, if approved by parliament.
Home Office minister Angela Eagle said in a written statement: "For a body to be designated, the Home Secretary must reasonably believe that it is, or has been, involved in foreign power threat activity and must consider that designation is necessary to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.”
"The Home Secretary is satisfied that the statutory test is met in respect of the three bodies
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The IRGC is a central component of the Iranian state’s security apparatus, answerable directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader.
“Its role extends far beyond that of a conventional military force. It encompasses intelligence activity, the use of proxy actors, and the projection of influence designed to advance Iranian state objectives.”