British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under increasing pressure from across the political spectrum to officially ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), especially after several Iranian nationals were arrested in two separate anti-terror operations in Britain.
A cross-party group of more than 550 MPs and peers have signed a letter calling on the government to label the IRGC a terrorist organization. The signatories include prominent figures such as former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock, ex-Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, and former home secretary Suella Braverman.
The appeal comes shortly after British counter-terrorism police charged three Iranian nationals with offences under the National Security Act, alleging they acted on behalf of Iran’s intelligence service and carried out surveillance targeting Iran International journalists.
The men — Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 56 — were arrested at their homes in London on May 3 and charged on Friday.
All three are accused of engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between August 14, 2024 and February 16, 2025, in breach of Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023. The foreign state involved is Iran, police said.
Tory MP Bob Blackman who coordinated the letter, said "Iranian terrorism has reached our soil. A serious terror plot, involving several Iranians, was recently thwarted in the UK."
“Our ally, the US, rightly designated the IRGC as a terrorist entity several years ago. While the regime has never been weaker, we must set aside all wrong-headed political and diplomatic calculations and proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist entity — an action long overdue.”
The lawmakers argue that allowing the IRGC to operate without restriction sends the wrong message to authoritarian governments. “Appeasing this faltering regime betrays democratic values, emboldens its repressive policies, and undermines global security as Tehran continues its nuclear ambitions and terrorism,” the letter said.
The letter called for firm action against the Revolutionary Guards, saying “the IRGC should be designated as a terrorist organization.”
The UK government has not formally banned the IRGC, but it has imposed sanctions on its members and entities.
