A cross-party coalition of more than 45 MPs, peers and public figures have called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
The letter, organised by the Henry Jackson Society think tank, says the IRGC’s global reach “is well-documented outside of its Iranian base. Its regional influence, including support for proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah that are already banned in this country, has resulted in the use of violence, intimidation, and terrorism to advance its militant agenda.”
Signatories, including shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and the former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove, implore Starmer to “use this critical tool available to you in law to take a stand against what is already seen as a terrorist organisation.”
They added: “By taking this leadership stance, you will be showing that you head a government committed to action against national and international security threats, not just words.”
In opposition, Labour had pledged to proscribe the IRCG and in February 2023 then-shadow foreign secretary David Lammy told Parliament: “We would proscribe the IRGC, either by using existing terrorism legislation or by creating a new process of proscription for hostile state actors.”
One Labour MP who signed the letter told the JC he was keen for his party to deliver on that pledge.
Luke Akehurst MP, who represents North Durham, said: “The threat from IRGC hasn't decreased. Labour called for this dangerous terror organisation to be proscribed when we were in opposition, so now that we are in government I will continue to press ministers to proscribe it.”
A fellow Labour signatory, Damien Egan MP, who represents Bristol North East, told the JC: “The IRGC has been at the root of instability and destruction across the Middle East for decades. Increasingly, we see reports that it is operating here in the UK too – harassing journalists, organising on campuses, and threatening the Jewish community.”
Egan welcomed sanctions that the government had brought in against Iran - including last week against Iran’s national airline, Iran Air for aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine - as a “step in the right direction”.
He encouraged the government now to “go where the Conservatives failed: proscribe the IRGC, in its entirety, as a terror group”.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith told the JC: “The government should have already proscribed the IRGC, it’s long overdue. The IRGC are a direct threat to all countries in the free world, particularly NATO countries. Videos have emerged of antisemitic and anti-Israel speeches by IRGC generals given to students in London and supporters of the Iranian regime have attended pro-Palestine marches in London.”
Earlier this month, at Prime Minister’s Questions, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage urged Starmer to proscribe the IRGC after reports that the IRGC were behind an assassination attempt against US president-elect Donald Trump.
Starmer responded by saying that the decision to proscribe the group would be kept under review.
Both Canada and the US have already proscribed the IRGC.
The organisation has been linked to assassination plots, cyber-attacks, and covert operations targeting dissidents and civilians across Europe and North America.
According to the Henry Jackson Society, since January 2022, the UK has faced 20 credible threats against British citizens and UK-based individuals, all tied to the IRGC.
