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UK targets IRGC support
The UK will ban support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with Keir Starmer saying the move came close to proscribing the military group as a terrorist organisation.
“Iran condemns Britain's decision to designate IRGC as national security threat The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned Britain's "hostile" decision to designate Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) as a national security threat, calling it "unjustified, irresponsible, and in violation of international law”
Starmer said the government would designate the branch of the Iranian military under a new National Security Act, enabling law enforcement to take action against anyone deemed to be providing it with support.
The Guardian reported the designation was announced alongside similar designations for the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR) and the Russian GRU Volunteer Corps, and it said the IRGC designation comes after years of wrangling over whether it should be officially proscribed.
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, said: "Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores."
The Guardian also quoted Angela Eagle saying: "There is sufficient basis to reasonably believe that each of these bodies is engaged in foreign power threat activity."
Tehran rejects and threatens
Iran condemned the UK’s IRGC designation as a "threat under the United Kingdom's National Security Act" and said the decision contravenes "the fundamental principles and rules of international law, including the principles of the sovereign equality of states and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries."
In a statement carried by Tehran Times, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the IRGC is an integral component of Iran's official armed forces and that it, alongside the Iranian Army, is responsible for safeguarding Iran's territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and security.
Tehran Times also said Iran warned it reserves its rights under the UN Charter and international law to take reciprocal measures and that British authorities would bear responsibility for the political, legal, and diplomatic consequences.
Middle East Monitor reported Iran’s Foreign Ministry described the designation as "unjustified and irresponsible" and said Britain would bear the "political, legal and diplomatic consequences" of the move.
The Jerusalem Post added that Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the move "unjustified" and "irresponsible" while also describing the IRGC as an official part of Iran's armed forces.
Reciprocity and wider security
Iran’s condemnation was paired with warnings of reciprocal measures, as Tehran Times said Iran would take action under the UN Charter and international law and that British authorities would bear responsibility for consequences.
“Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Britain's decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a security threat, calling the move "unjustified" and "irresponsible"”
The Guardian framed the UK move as introducing new criminal offences for people who support, assist or receive a benefit from the designated groups, and it said espionage or sabotage on their behalf would face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Guardian also reported that the UK acted in part because of recent threats to British targets, including plots to assassinate two Iran International TV journalists in the UK and cyber-attacks on infrastructure in Britain, Australia and Canada.
In parallel, The Jerusalem Post reported that Far Left politician George Galloway denounced Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's announcement and wrote on X: "As far as I'm aware - as a UK legislator across five decades - this is the first time I have been explicitly told that I can go to prison literally for my opinion."
The Guardian said the designation of the IRGC came as the US and Iran resume hostilities, and it described the policy shift as potentially further undermining relations between London and Tehran.
