A plan to ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the UK for being a terrorist organization has been temporarily shelved by the government over fears that the move could harm diplomatic communication channels between London and Tehran. It is not known how long the pause will last.
The IRGC, established in 1979 in the wake of Iran’s revolution, has been accused of orchestrating insurgencies, assassinations, attacks and other acts of aggression worldwide.
The proposed ban would have made membership of the IRGC or attendance of meetings in support of it illegal in the UK, and hindered its ability to raise funds in the country.
In November, the director general of UK intelligence branch MI5, Ken McCallum, accused the IRGC of plotting to assassinate or kidnap people living in Britain on at least 10 occasions in 2022.
The IRGC was also accused by British security services of threatening journalists working at London-based news outlet Iran International, which necessitated the deployment of armed police at its offices.
The IRGC’s outlawing has long been supported by senior British politicians, including Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat.
A source told The Times: “Foreign Office officials have real concerns about proscription because they want to maintain access.
“The Home Office, and the government more broadly, supports the move. The IRGC should have been proscribed by now, but the whole process is on ice.”
Diplomatic relations between the two countries remain strained, and were not helped by the execution earlier this year of UK resident Alireza Akbari, who authorities in Tehran had accused of being a spy. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the case had “appalled” him.
A UK government spokesperson said: “While the government keeps the list of proscribed organizations under review, we do not comment on whether a specific organization is or is not being considered for proscription.”
