Government urged to speed up legislation to proscribe Iranian terror force

A cross-party group of parliamentarians has urged the government to “urgently” bring forward legislation to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

It follows the publication of an intelligence and security report into the threat posed by the terror organisation to the Jewish and other communities, including in the UK.

A letter sent to Keir Starmer, and including the signatures of senior Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers and MPs, notes that a report by the Commons  Intelligence and Security Committee’s (ISC) details “the IRGC’s extensive malign activities, including  cyber operations, assassination plots, and intimidation campaigns targeting individuals on UK  soil.”

It adds:”These actions are not isolated incidents, they are part of a systematic strategy to  undermine our national security and democratic values.

“The IRGC is not merely a military force; it is the ideological engine of the Iranian regime.

“It subscribes to a radical doctrine of Mahdism, which envisages an apocalyptic confrontation  resulting in the annihilation of Jews, Christians, Israel, and the West.

“The IRGC’s antisemitism is  not incidental, it is central to its worldview and operational goals. This ideology has translated  into material support for terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah and Hamas, both proscribed  in the UK, and into direct threats against Jewish communities and other minorities globally. ”

Among those to back the letter, led by the Tory MP Bob Blackman and Labour’s Damien Egan, are Nigel Farage, Robert Jenrick, Baroness Berger, Tom Tugendhat and Luke Akehurst.

Others to sign include Lord Grabiner KC, Lord Palmer of Childs Hill, Lord Polak and Baroness Deech.

It notes that the ISC report confirms that the IRGC has been involved in multiple plots against UK-based individuals, including journalists and dissidents, and has sought to exert influence within our  political and civic institutions.

“These are the actions of the terrorist arm of the world’s leader  sponsor of terrorism and malign, subversive activity,” adds the letter.

“We therefore continue to urge the Government to proscribe the IRGC in its entirety and  urgently bring forward the legislative proposals outlined in the review by Jonathan Hall KC  to combat state threats without delay.

“The UK must not be a permissive environment for foreign-backed extremism. We must send a  clear and necessary message: that we will not tolerate terrorism, antisemitism, or ideological  extremism on British soil.

“We stand ready to support the Government in taking decisive action to protect our national  security and uphold our democratic values. ”

In May Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has told MPs the government would create a new power of proscription that is “stronger than current National Security Act powers in allowing us to restrict the activity and operations of foreign state-backed organisations in the UK, including new criminal offences”.

Cooper said Hall had reported there were “gaps in a series of areas, including on proscribinglegislation where he identifies a series of legal difficulties in using powers that were designed to deal with terrorist groups for state and state-backed organisations, such as the IRGC”.