The British Government Plans To Set Iran's Revolutionary Guards As A Terror Group

Illustration of convoys of IRGC troops. (Wikimedia Commons/Mohammad Sadegh Heydari)

JAKARTA - British Security Secretary Tom Tugendhat and Home Affairs Minister Suella Braverman support moves to officially declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist group, reports say.

The announcement is expected to be made within weeks, The Daily Telegraph reported, and follows British officials building a case against the IRGC and intelligence sharing security services.

While the group has been banned as a terrorist organization, becoming part of the IRGC, attending its meetings, publicly carrying its logo, or encouraging support for its activities will be a criminal offense.

Whitehall (the central region of the UK Government) clearly views the IRGC as a major threat to the UK, as such a designation would place it on a similar legal footing to Al Qaeda and ISIS.

The move will follow the actions of the US and Canada, Britain's two partners in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, which also includes Australia and New Zealand.

Action against the IRGC could make it more difficult to secure a new nuclear deal with Iran to curb its pursuit of nuclear weapons, marking a hardening of London's policies toward Tehran.

Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5, gave a rare public speech last November about Iran and its threats to Britain, including detailing past plots.

IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami. (Wikimedia Commons/Mehr News Agency/Mahmoud Rahimi)

"Iran is projecting a threat to Britain directly, through its aggressive intelligence services," McCallum said.

"At the sharpest, this includes ambitions to kidnap or even kill UK or UK-based individuals perceived to be enemies of the regime."

"We have seen at least 10 such potential threats since January alone," he said.

The IRGC was formed after the 1979 Iranian revolution as the ideological guardian of the country's religious values. The organization has grown to become the main military, political and economic force in the country.

The IRGC now controls elite Iranian armed and intelligence forces, and provides support to militant groups in places such as Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.

When Donald Trump became US President, he pulled the country out of the nuclear deal with Iran and designated the IRCG a terrorist organization, in April 2019.

Canada also barred more than 10.000 IRCG officers and senior members from entering the country last October following the promise of more sanctions.

It also classifies the group under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which Canada normally applies to those accused of the most serious war crimes.

While in the UK, public displays of support for the IRGC have become more common, it would be illegal if the group was banned.

Stephen Crabb, a Conservative MP, said he supports banning the IRGC.

"This would be a very welcome step. This is a step that has been taken by a number of our key allies," Crabb said.

"The Revolutionary Guards Corps plays a key role supporting and facilitating the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities in the Middle East and beyond."

"It is very, very clear that the international community needs to take stronger and clearer action against Iran," he said.

It is understood that under the Terrorism Act 2000, the UK Home Secretary has the right to ban an organization if it is reasonably believed that the agency is involved in terrorism and it is reasonable to do so. So far, 78 terrorist organizations have been banned under UK law.