When Iran International TV "reluctantly" closed its studios in West London because of death threats against its journalists, British-Iranian journalist and human rights activist Vahid Beheshti decided it was time to take a fight to UK's parliament.
In February, the media organisation was forced to move its broadcasting to Washington DC after noting that "threats had grown to the point that it was felt it was no longer possible to protect the channel's staff, other employees".
Mr Beheshti, himself a journalist with another broadcasting service, DORRTV – a news service that often publishes stories of political prisoners in Iran and the regime's human rights abuses — says the level of foreign interference was so shocking that he decided to set up camp opposite the entrance to the Foreign Office in central London and begin a hunger strike.
His message for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is simple: designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) – the military arm of Iran's government — as a terrorist organisation, placing it in the same category as groups like Islamic State, al Qaeda and Hezbollah.
The 46-year-old, who has been surviving on "a few cubes of sugar, a bit of salt, a cup of coffee in the morning and two teas and lots of water" sees this terror listing as a necessary step towards regime change in Iran.
"I've been living like this for past 37 days," he tells ABC News in a Zoom interview from his small tent.
He has become frail, and could soon face hospitalisation, but says he will continue to take his message to UK politicians and globally, while he can.
The camp site is flagged with "women, life, freedom" banners representing Iran's protest movement. Sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, Iran's protests have carried on for more than six months.
"Four days ago, I lost over 12 kilos," he says.
"I'm a quite a fit person. I didn't even have a gram of extra weight. So, for someone like me, I think it's quite a lot."
While he's "getting weaker physically", "mentally I'm getting stronger and stronger — more determined to carry on".
Mr Beheshti believes that if the UK moves to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, other countries in the EU and Australia could too.
'Upholding British values'
Born and raised in Borujerd, a city 400 kilometres south-west of Tehran, Mr Beheshti says he was somewhat of a rebel from an early age.
In primary school, he would question religious teachings forced upon students. And in later years, he was arrested twice by Iran's government for protesting against the regime. This led to his decision migrate to Britain 24 years ago.
Coventry-based Beheshti is often joined by his wife, Mattie Heaven, a local councillor, and friends in tents next to him outside the Foreign Office.
Mr Behesti says his actions aren't just in support of Iran's people but is intended to uphold British values.
"I'm concerned about our rights — about freedom and democracy, about safety and security here in London," Mr Beheshti says.
He says IRGC agents intimidate and threaten those who criticise the regime — both inside and outside of Iran.
Several media reports detail how Iran hired crime gangs to murder dissidents abroad in the UK and other Western countries including the US and Canada.
One of the publicised assassination attempts has been against Iranian-American journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad.
And in Australia, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil recently revealed that late last year ASIO disrupted an Iranian government operation in Australia targeting an Iranian-Australian connected to the Iran protests.
A Senate inquiry into Iran's human rights abuses called on the Australian government to take far stronger action against Iran's government, including listing its Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation.
The attorney-general's department had said it does not have the ability to make such a designation. Despite that, pressure is mounting on governments to act.
"When you see the reports of MI5 (UK's security service) … attempts of assassination, by IRGC agents …. or when … the metropolitan police turn their back on the (Iran International) journalists and say, 'We cannot guarantee your safety and security anymore here in London', what does that mean?," Mr Beheshti asks rhetorically before answering: "It tells us the IRGC is here now."
He notes that just two days after the closure of Iran International in London, IRGC commander-in-chief Major General Hossein Salami said it was a sign of "how far the Islamic Revolution's realm of power, field of infiltration and radius of influence has extended".
UK's government delays listing IRGC as terror group
He says at the start of the year, Britain's government seemed to be on board with listing the IRGC as a terror group, but fears that one reason why the Foreign Office hasn't moved is that it may be reluctant to close the door on future negotiations on a nuclear deal.
Mr Beheshti says there's also some people in government that are worried that if they go ahead with the designation, that efforts to secure the release of other British citizens in Iranian prisons will become harder.
But he says hostage taking has, and will always be, the main policy of the IRGC and the international community should stop playing their game.
"They (Iran's government) will continue with their hostage taking policies … as long as we carry on with an appeasement policy," he says.
"The international protocols tell us we should not sit down … with the terrorists, with the hostage takers.
"We should not negotiate with the terrorists who have killed ... journalists, human rights activists and politicians in past 44 years."
IRGC: 'Driving force behind repression'
Mr Beheshti has received visits from a number of high-profile opposition figures and activists who want to see an end to Iran's brutal regime including the exiled prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, Nobel Prize Winner, Shirin Ebadi, former Iranian imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and comedian Omid Djalili.
He and many others argue that the IRGC works on behalf of the regime and has been a driving force of repression of recent protests in Iran, which has seen more than 500 killed, tens of thousands of Iranians imprisoned and some executed.
"This organisation (the IRGC) is … anti-human, they should be placed where they belong to on the list of terrorist organisations," he says.
He recounts how Iran's Revolutionary Guard has also had its hands in global terrorism, noting that it was found to have shot down civilian plane, Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, over the skies of Tehran in January 2020, killing all 176 people onboard.
He also mentions the AMIA bombing of a Jewish community centre that occurred in July 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Argentine prosecutors later accused the Iranian government of directing the bombing, and the Lebanese Islamist militant group Hezbollah of carrying it out.
On day 26 of his hunger strike, Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, raised Mr Beheshti's plight in UK Parliament.
And just days ago, Britain's security minister, Tom Tugendhat, paid him a visit, but did not commit to a time frame for designating the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
His hope is that he and other MPs, who he believes are supportive of a designation, can shift Britain's government to act.
He says he won't stop his hunger strike until they do (and adds that if he succeeds in his mission his GP has advised not rush out and eat a big meal, but "only to have soup and liquid").
"Many politicians are asking me this question, 'How long more are you going to carry on?'."
"I said, 'This is a very good question, but (you are asking) the wrong person'. You have to ask this from the government, how long they are willing to go?"
