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Prime Minister urged to ‘get on with it’ and ban Iranian Armed Forces faction ‘responsible for terrorism in the Middle East and Europe’
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Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and stop relying on “ineffective” sanctions that are “riddled with loopholes”.
A cross-party group of more than 40 MPs, peers and other public figures has written to the Prime Minister to argue that sanctions are not working and the IRGC must be listed as a terrorist group.
Labour MPs and peers are among the signatories, as is Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6.
Luke Akehurst, Labour MP for North Durham, said: “I have signed the call for the IRGC to be proscribed as they are a significant terror threat to UK interests and allies in the Middle East … potentially even here in the UK.
“Proscribing the IRGC is something Labour called for in opposition. I want to see action on this now that we are in government.”
Other Labour signatories include Dame Siobhain McDonagh, the veteran MP, and Damien Egan, a newly elected MP.
Lord Turnberg, a Labour peer and signatory, urged Sir Keir to “get on with it” and ban the IRGC.
He told The Telegraph: “The IRGC are responsible for all sorts of nasty activities against their own people, women in particular, and against others who dissent from the [Iranian] government.
“They are responsible for sponsoring a lot of the terrorism in the Middle East and they are responsible for terrorist activities in the UK and in Europe. So I think they have every reason to be proscribed.
“I think the Government needs quite a bit of encouragement to move a bit faster on this. It is not entirely clear why they are holding back – I can’t see any good reason.”
Labour called for the proscription of the IRGC in opposition but has not committed to doing so since winning the election.
The Labour manifesto explicitly cited the IRGC, saying: “From the Skripal poisonings to assassination plots by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, threats from hostile states or state-sponsored groups are on the rise, but Britain lacks a comprehensive framework to protect us.
“Labour will take the approach used for dealing with non-state terrorism and adapt it to deal with state-based domestic security threats.”
Signatories of the letter, organised by the Henry Jackson Society, argue that in addition to the IRGC’s support for Iran’s proxy groups Hamas and Hezbollah, which are already proscribed in the UK, the group also poses a threat further afield.
“Beyond its activities in the Middle East, the IRGC has been implicated in cyber-attacks, assassination plots, and covert operations targeting dissidents and civilians in Europe and North America,” they say.
“Since January 2022, there have been 20 credible threats against British citizens and UK-based individuals, all linked to Iran and the IRGC.
“By proscribing the IRGC, not only would its resources be subject to seizure, but public support for the group would be criminalised. This step is especially critical as public displays glorifying dangerous organisations have increasingly surfaced on the streets of London in recent months.”
They add that the Government’s strategy of relying on sanctions is “ultimately ineffective” in curbing the IRGC’s activities since these are “riddled with loopholes” and “poorly enforced”.
A Government spokesman said: “The UK Government, law enforcement and our international partners continue to work together to identify, deter and respond to threats from Iran.
“That is why we continue to take strong action to hold the Iranian regime to account – we have sanctioned more than 450 Iranian individuals and entities, including the IRGC in its entirety, as well as individual commanders.”
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