The IRGC was designated alongside the Iran-linked Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right and Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps, the first organizations placed under powers created by the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026.
The designations took effect on July 17 after Parliament approved an order submitted by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood four days earlier.
Under the new law, it is now a criminal offence to express support for the groups, including by glorifying or encouraging activity that threatens the safety of the United Kingdom.
Providing assistance or accepting money or another material benefit from a designated organization can also lead to prosecution. Those convicted could face prison sentences of up to 14 years.
People who commit sabotage, arson or other hostile acts on behalf of the groups could be charged separately under the National Security Act 2023 and face life imprisonment.
The designation is distinct from banning an organization under Britain’s terrorism legislation. It is designed specifically to address hostile activity linked to foreign governments, including espionage, political interference, intimidation, sabotage and physical attacks.
The government says the new framework will make it easier to prosecute people working for foreign organizations because prosecutors will not always have to establish a direct connection between an individual act and a foreign government.
Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer said when the measures were announced that Britain would not be allowed to become “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 IRGC is one of the Islamic Republic’s most powerful military and political institutions. Its overseas Quds Force oversees Tehran’s relationships with allied armed groups and has been accused by British authorities of directing operations against dissidents, journalists and Jewish or Israeli-linked targets in Europe.
The British government said the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right had claimed responsibility for seven attacks this year against Persian-language media and locations linked to Jewish and Israeli communities in Britain.
Those incidents included an antisemitic arson attack that damaged four ambulances belonging to the Jewish emergency service Hatzola in Golders Green, north London, on March 23.
British authorities said Quds Force members were behind the organization and had “almost certainly” directed its attacks across Europe. The allegations have not been tested in court.
The government has also cited at least 20 potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots identified by the domestic intelligence agency MI5 over a one-year period.
“Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores,” Mahmood said when she announced the intended designations. “We will find you, and we will lock you up.”
The third designated organization, the GRU Volunteer Corps, is described by Britain as a network controlled by Russian military intelligence that recruits people online to carry out arson, sabotage, harassment and other hostile activity.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the use of proxies by Iran and Russia to conduct operations on British soil was “reprehensible.”
The designation marks a significant escalation in Britain’s response to the IRGC. Rather than banning the organization as a terrorist group, the government has created a separate route to prosecute support, recruitment, financing and operational assistance linked to hostile foreign-state activity.
Police said Vahid Aberi, of Liverpool, was charged under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023 with assisting a foreign intelligence service. They said the foreign state to which the investigation relates is Iran.
Aberi was arrested on Wednesday in the Birmingham area and taken to a West Midlands police station. Officers also carried out searches at addresses in Birmingham and Liverpool.
He was remanded in custody and was due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday.
Police say no direct threat identified
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said the investigation reflected what she described as a sustained increase in national security casework.
"We have seen a significant and sustained increase in the tempo of our work in national security investigations in recent years," she said in a statement.
She said police had "intervened to disrupt suspected activity linked to foreign intelligence services" but declined to comment further on the allegations because criminal proceedings had begun.
Flanagan added that police had not identified any direct threat to the public, nor any threat to a community or individual, in connection with the investigation.
The charges were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Scrutiny of alleged Iran-linked activity
The case comes as Britain has intensified efforts to counter what it says is hostile activity linked to Iran.
Earlier this month, a London court sentenced two Romanian nationals to a combined 20 years in prison for stabbing Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati outside his home in Wimbledon in 2024. The judge accepted the prosecution's case that the attack was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state. Iran has previously rejected accusations that it has been involved in attacks or plots in Britain.
Separately, the British government announced this week that it intends to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards under new state threats legislation. If approved by parliament, supporting or assisting the group under the new legal framework could carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
The government has said the designation is separate from proscription under Britain's terrorism laws and is intended to address foreign state-backed activity, including espionage, interference, sabotage and physical attacks.
British authorities have repeatedly said they have disrupted a number of alleged Iran-linked plots in recent years. Iran has previously dismissed British allegations that it has directed hostile activity in the UK.
