Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed within weeks to introduce legislation proscribing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, fulfilling a demand of Jewish groups and others opposed to the country’s clerical regime.
Starmer announced the plans in an interview with the Jewish Chronicle newspaper at Kenton United Synagogue, in north-west London, hit last Saturday by a firebomb attack claimed by a group linked to Iran.
The designation would widen the range of criminal charges open to police when investigating suspected Iran-linked offences.
The UK government is expected in May’s King’s Speech to promise legislation that would allow “proscription-like” measures against arms of foreign states. The IRGC, a powerful institution within Iran’s government, is expected to be its first target.
The Jewish Chronicle quoted Starmer as saying he was “very worried” about the increasing use of proxies by the Iranian regime and that legislation enabling proscription would be brought forward in “a few weeks”.
“In relation to malign state actors more generally, proscription, we do need legislation in order to take necessary measures, and that is legislation that we’re bringing forward as soon as we can,” Starmer said.
The prime minister’s announcement follows a decision in February by the EU to designate the IRGC a terrorist organisation. The group has repeatedly been blamed for the activity of sometimes violent Iranian operatives outside Iran.
A previously unknown group, Ashab al-Yamin, which uses Iranian propaganda channels, has claimed responsibility for a series of arsons, attempted arsons and other attacks on buildings around Europe.
Most have been targeted towards Jewish community institutions, although some financial sector organisations and Iran International TV, a London-based, opposition-aligned Persian language TV station, have also been affected.
Roger Macmillan, a former director of security for Iran International TV and a close observer of Iranian covert activity, said the UK had been an outlier in not proscribing the IRGC.
He said: “This is a critical step that will allow the police to prosecute more people under terrorism legislation for supporting influence operations on behalf of the Iranians.”
Successive administrations have shied away from proscribing the group, arguing that the Terrorism Act 2000 was designed for banning non-state terrorist organisations, not parts of an overseas government.
The Home Office, which oversees terrorism legislation, confirmed the plans, saying it would do whatever it took to “keep our citizens safe from harm”.
Last year, the Labour government ordered a review of the counterterrorism legislation framework to examine which parts could be applied to state threats and explicitly named Iran as a likely target.
Security minister Dan Jarvis also placed the IRGC on the enhanced tier of the newly created foreign influence registration scheme, which compels members of listed groups to register their activities in the UK or face an automatic jail term.
However, officials have privately warned that proscription of the IRGC could prompt the Iranian government to close the UK embassy in Tehran, an important listening post for western intelligence.
Some British officials have also expressed concern about proscribing the organisation that controls Iran’s nuclear materials, which could complicate contact and support in the event of regime change.
That was a problem in Syria, where proscription of groups associated with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new president, initially made security and other co-operation difficult following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.