Her comments follow an appeal at the weekend by Israel for a terrorist ban on the IRGC. On Monday, the British Board of Deputies, representing British Jews, also wrote to Rishi Sunak advocating for the move. Proscribing the IRGC would make it a criminal offence to belong to the organisation or invite support for it.
Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli ambassador to the UK, told LBC the UK must proscribe the IRGC as she warned the UK could become a target for drones. “Maybe the UK will be next with these kind of drones… they won’t hesitate to do that here,” she said.
In the Commons, Sir Iain appealed directly to the Prime Minister: “Could I please ask him, when he sits down with our international colleagues… to consider proscribing the IRGC – and to do it in a way that will make sure they can no longer foment extremism here in the United Kingdom as well?”
Sir Keir reaffirmed Labour’s demand for proscription, urging the Prime Minister to take action to “limit the power of the revolutionary guard to glorify terrorism here in the UK”.
In response, Mr Sunak suggested any steps to further limit the IRGC’s reach would be taken in concert with the UK’s allies.
He told MPs: “Yesterday at the G7 we agreed to work together on further measures to counter the Iranian regime and its proxies. It was agreed that we should coordinate those actions and that work is now under way, and obviously at the appropriate time either I or ministers will update the House.”
Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said: “We recognise what a dangerous organisation it is. We have sanctioned it and put in place a regime to do more of this work. I keep this under review, but the police and security services say they have the powers to deal with it here or elsewhere.
“Having those diplomatic relations means we can deliver a direct message to the Iranians as I have done, speaking to the foreign minister twice in the last seven days. It makes Britain stronger and more able if we can have those conservations and we should keep it that way.”
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
