Sunak faces renewed cross-party pressure to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
The prime minister and foreign secretary Lord Cameron appeared to rule out proscribing the IRGC, despite Tehran's attack on Israel
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Rishi Sunak has appeared to once again reject growing cross-party calls to proscribe Iran’s powerful Islamic Guards Corps, following the first direct attack against Israel.
A succession of senior Tory MPs made clear their frustration at the UK government’s failure to ban the group its in entirety, especially with claims of evidence of a growing risk to UK interests, in the Commons Iranian nuclear programme ‘never been more advanced’, Sunak tells MPs on Monday.
Earlier the Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl had written to Sunak requesting that the Iranian regime’s IRGC “be proscribed as a terrorist organisation in its entirety.”
She added:”The IRGC’s role in funding, arming and training a host of terror proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, is clear. Their direct threat, both to Iranian dissidents in this country – one of whom was stabbed outside his own home last month – and to the Jewish community, is also apparent.
“We sincerely hope that given this latest escalation by the Iranian regime, our Government will see fit to take this important and highly meaningful step.”
Israel has also made similar calls to the United Nations security council.
In the Commons, responding to a call from former home secretary Suella Braverman to “put the UK’s national security first” by banning the organisation in its entirety, Sunak said:”(Ms Braverman) knows that we don’t comment on any potential proscription decisions but of course we recognise the threat from Iran and have taken measures to counter it at home and around the world.”
Following the Iranian regime's attack on Israel over the weekend, @BoDPres has written to Prime Minister @RishiSunak, thanking him for the UK's role in countering the drones and missiles and urging the Government to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. pic.twitter.com/vHhQR6JDve
— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) April 15, 2024
The PM added: “I’m confident the police, security services and courts all have the tools that they need to sanction, prosecute and mitigate threats from Iran, we strengthened our sanctions regime recently, including sanctioning the IRGC in its entirety.”
After giving an update to MPs on Iran and Israel following Saturday’s attack, Sunak come under pressure from several MPs in his own party, and others on the Labour benches to act against Tehran’s powerful IRGC.
Responding to Keir Starmer’s request for an update on new steps against the Iranian regime, the Prime Minister told MPs any announcements about new restrictions against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would be made in agreement with the UK’s allies.
He added:”“Yesterday at the G7 we agreed to work together on further measures to counter the Iranian regime and its proxies.
“It was agreed that we should coordinate those actions and that work is now under way, and obviously at the appropriate time either I or ministers will update the House.”
On Tuesday home office minister Laura Farris defended the decision not to proscribe the Iranian organisation saying:” We’re not for a second defending the IRGC. We’re simply saying that maintaining that channel with Tehran at this moment in time is, at present, in our national interest.”
Conservative former minister Sir Simon Clarke told the Commons the previous day: “I would add my voice to those across the House who have called for the proscription of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) as a terrorist organisation – their tentacles are wherever trouble is to be found across the Middle East and this is the latest demonstration of their malign influence.”
He was joined in this call by Liam Fox. Conservative former minister David Jones told the Commons: “It’s actually the case that IRGC officials can be seen dining out in restaurants in West London quite regularly.”
Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East, said: “The proscription of the IRGC, the removal of the embassy here and return of all those officials to Iran, our officials returning to the United Kingdom and the harshest possible sanctions against the regime in Iran are the fundamentals that are required.”
Conservative former minister Philip Dunne asked the Prime Minister to “undertake an immediate review of the resources and resilience of the British armed forces”, with Rishi Sunak insisting such issues are kept under “constant review”.
Sir Ian Duncan Smith also joined the demand for the PM to act warning “please, please could he now consider proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – and to do it in a way that will make sure they can no longer ferment extremism here in the UK?”
Shadow defence secretary John Healey also said the threat to the UK from allowing the IRGC to operate should be sufficient for the government to follow the US government in banning the organisation.
He said: “We’ve been arguing this case for well over a year now that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which was at the forefront of the Iranian attack, should be proscribed to this country. It is responsible; it’s the leading edge of the threat that Iran poses not just to Israel, but to Arab countries and western interests right across the region.”
Earlier Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper had asked home secretary James Cleverly to update on why the government’s were resisting calls to proscribe the IRGC.
Cleverly replied: “We keep our response to Iran consistently under review and of course we have done so in the light of the attacks in Wimbledon.
But she will also know that we do not speculate about future designations or sanctions.”He said the IRGC is “sanctioned in its entirety”, adding: “We will keep this constantly under review.”
Sunak’s stance on proscription of the IRGC was backed by foreign secretary Lord Cameron earlier.
He told Radio 4’s Today programme“We recognise what a dangerous organisation it is. We have sanctioned it and put in place a regime to do more of this work. I keep this under review but the police and security services say they have the powers to deal with it here or elsewhere.”
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