Finally! IRGC proscribed following years of demands, plots and conspiracies

Shabana Mahmood has finally proscribed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) following years of assassination plots and kidnap conspiracies on UK soil.

The Home Secretary blamed Tehran for a series of arson attacks on British Jews.

And the Government finally labelled the IRGC a “state-based threat”.

Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, has also called in Seyed Ali Mousavi, the Iranian ambassador, to inform him of the ban. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR) and Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps will become the first bodies designated under landmark new state threats powers.

The move will give counter-terrorism police and MI5 powers to arrest their foot-soldiers operating in the UK, freeze assets, allow the Home Secretary to cancel visas of foreign nationals linked to the IRGC and force social media companies to take down their propaganda.

Roger Macmillan, security expert and former director of security at IRGC-targeted Iran International TV, said: “Proscribing the IRGC is the floor, not the ceiling.

“The real fight now is against the network around it: the front charities, the so-called Islamic centres and education centres that launder its ideology into British communities, the online broadcasters and the social media influencers who do Tehran’s work for it.

“None of that stops because one organisation has been added to a schedule.

“Proscription of the IRGC must now be matched with the political will and resources to support the police and the security services to actively go after these networks and bring people to justice, not just designate an organisation on paper. Today is the right first step, many years too late. The hard work starts now.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “We will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets.

“We have already taken tough action against the Iranian regime and those linked to it, and against Russian operatives and networks targeting our country. These new powers will make it easier to prosecute and lock up anyone carrying out their dirty work here in Britain.

“Anyone acting on behalf of those who threaten our national security should be in no doubt that there is no place for you in Britain. We will find you, and you will face the full force of the law.”

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores.

“I have rapidly designated three groups, so those working for them will be tracked down and put behind bars.

“I will leave no stone unturned to keep our country safe.”

The Home Office said the IMCR have claimed responsibility for seven attacks on Jewish and Israeli communities, and Persian-language media outlets.

This included the antisemitic arson attack on four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green on March 23.

Security officials believe members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force “almost certainly directed” IMCR attacks across Europe.

The Home Office has confirmed petty criminals will be arrested if they receive payment from a designated organisation.

It comes after a spate of arson attacks, kidnap conspiracies and assassination attempts linked to the IRGC.

Enemy intelligence agencies are offering criminals money to give them “plausible” deniability, security chiefs believe.

Zealots who express support for designated groups are set to be arrested, in a similar way to those who support ISIS or Al Qaeda.

The Home Office believes that threatening criminals with 14 years behind bars if they work for a foreign intelligence agency will deter others in the future. The penalties will be harsher than if they carried out the same act without first receiving orders from spies.