Britain said on Monday it would designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two other groups under new state threats legislation, making it a criminal offense to support or assist them if the measure is approved by parliament later this week.
The IRGC, the Iran-linked Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right and Russia's GRU Volunteer Corps would become the first organizations designated under the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, which received royal assent last week.
The British government said people who support or assist the groups after they are designated could face up to 14 years in prison, while those carrying out sabotage, including arson, on their behalf could receive life sentences.
The designation is separate from proscription under Britain's terrorism legislation and is aimed at foreign state-backed activity including espionage, interference, sabotage and physical attacks.
The new powers would also allow prosecutors in some cases to bring charges without having to prove a direct connection to a foreign state, making it easier to prosecute people acting for designated organizations, the government said in a statement.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday his government “will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets.”
“We have already taken tough action against the Iranian regime and those linked to it, and against Russian operatives and networks targeting our country,” he said. “These new powers will make it easier to prosecute and lock up anyone carrying out their dirty work here in Britain.”
The government said the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right had publicly claimed responsibility for seven attacks this year on locations linked to Jewish and Israeli communities and Persian-language media in Britain.
The attacks included an antisemitic arson attack that damaged four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, north London, on March 23.
It said members of the IRGC's Quds Force were behind the organization and had “almost certainly” directed the group's attacks across Europe.
Britain's domestic intelligence agency, MI5, identified at least 20 potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots against people in the country over a one-year period, according to the government.
“Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said, adding that those working for the groups would be tracked down and imprisoned.
The government also plans to designate the GRU Volunteer Corps, which it described as a group controlled by Russia's military intelligence agency and used to recruit people online to carry out hostile acts including sabotage, arson and harassment.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called Iran and Russia’s use of proxy groups to conduct state-backed activity on British soil “reprehensible.”
“Their malign behaviour, and anyone who acts on their behalf, must be held to account,” she said. “We will take all measures necessary to protect the British people, at home and abroad.”
“The use of drugs among women has unfortunately increased over the past seven to 10 years, and this trend often begins with cigarette smoking,” Soleiman Abbasi, Director General of Treatment at Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters, told the ILNA news agency.
“Hashish and cannabis are the most common drugs used by women in society, and there is not a significant tendency among women to use other specific narcotic substances,” he added.
Women, Abbasi said, still account for far fewer drug users than men, although no precise official figures are available. Even so, he warned that addiction among women carries wider social consequences because of their central role in family life.
“When the mother of a family becomes addicted, the family structure quickly falls apart,” Abbasi said, adding that women who do not use drugs often play a key role in maintaining family cohesion.
Iran faces one of the world's most severe drug-use challenges because of its proximity to Afghanistan, historically the world's largest producer of opium, and the long-standing availability of opiates. Official and expert estimates suggest around 2.8 million Iranians are regular drug users, with broader estimates including occasional users exceeding four million.
Cannabis use gaining ground among younger women
Available research indicates cannabis use among Iranian women remains substantially lower than among men but has been rising, particularly among younger women and university students.
A 2021 systematic review covering 90 Iranian studies found that 0.2% of women in the general population reported cannabis use during the previous year, compared with 1.3% of men. However, researchers identified a statistically significant increase in cannabis use among female university students between 2000 and 2020, reflecting growing consumption among younger, urban women.
Researchers have linked the trend to urbanization, changing social attitudes, easier access through informal networks, and greater exposure to global youth culture through the internet, while cautioning that stigma and legal risks likely result in substantial underreporting.
Abbasi also warned about the dangers posed by increasingly contaminated drugs.
Laboratory testing has found many seized narcotics contain harmful chemical impurities, including lead, which can worsen users' health and may contribute to fatal poisonings beyond the effects of the drugs themselves, he said.
He also highlighted overdose as a growing concern.
A study using data from Iran's Forensic Medicine Organization by Britain's Lancaster University recorded 11,944 drug-related deaths between March 2022 and March 2024, with men accounting for the overwhelming majority of fatalities and the average age at death around 37. Earlier official figures put annual drug-related deaths at roughly 3,000, suggesting the toll has increased sharply in recent years.
