UK to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK in an abrupt toughening of London’s stance towards Tehran.

A huge part of the Iranian Armed Forces, the 250,000-strong IRGC operates abroad in support of Iran’s objectives, particularly in countries such as Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria, but its influence means it pervades all parts of Iranian society.

It is already proscribed as a terrorist entity by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, and according to reports in The Telegraph, the UK is now set to follow suit.

It is a move long championed by Jewish and pro-Israel groups such as the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council, Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), the Zionist Federation, and Britain Israel Alliance.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and Home Secretary Suella Braverman are both understood to be in support. In 2020, as chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC), Tugendhat advised that the IRGC met the criteria for proscription in the Terrorism Act 2000, and that this was “a natural next step”.

Last month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed Iran’s influence at CFI’s annual business lunch, saying its activities “aren’t just confined to the Middle East”.

He referenced the “important actions” of his predecessors in proscribing Hamas and Hezbollah and said he was committed to “utilising the full range of tools at our disposal to protect UK citizens from the threat of the IRGC and Iran”.

He added that “under my leadership, the UK will not waver in our commitment to work with Israel and our allies to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon”.

The UK’s relationship with Iran has nosedived in recent months. Last year, MI5 issued a rare warning to exiled Iranian journalists living in the UK after credible threats to their safety from Iranian agents operating in the British capital.

Sunak cited that the “National Cyber Security Centre has exposed IRGC-linked attacks on critical national infrastructure” and that “the head of MI5 has spoken of at least ten threats this year to kidnap or even kill UK-based individuals”.

The two states are also at loggerheads over Ukraine, where Britain’s support for Kyiv is coming up against Russia’s use of Iranian drones, while London has also issued strong condemnation of Iran’s violent crackdown against Iranian protesters angered by the killing of a young woman by morality police for not wearing a hijab.

The IRGC is a combined arms forces with its own navy, ground force, air force, intelligence arm, and special forces. It controls the 90,000-strong Basij militia and is responsible for much of the arms flow across the Middle East.

Internally, it is charged with coordinating Iran’s national response to any attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, developing its ballistic missile programme, and protecting Iran’s coast, where IRGC boats get into frequent skirmishes with Western vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane.

In November, Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz said: “Iranian aggression continues to be a great threat to the region and the world”.

He added: “It is critical to stop the spread of Iranian influence and ambitions. This is what Israel aims to achieve and we will continue to operate against any attempt to build terror bases on our borders.”