THE UK Government is set to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
In a written statement to MPs, security minister Angela Eagle said the UK Government had "identified activity linked to the IRGC involving threats to life and intimidation on UK soil".
A second Iran-linked group, the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR), is also set to be designated by the UK Government following a series of attacks on the Jewish community in Britain.
A third group, Russia's Gru military intelligence volunteer corps, will also be proscribed under the plans if the UK Parliament approves them later this week.
The agency is accused of "sabotage and other activity directed against the UK and Europe".
In order for a body to be designated a terror group, the Home Secretary must reasonably believe that it is, or has been, involved in foreign power threat activity and must consider that designation is necessary to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.
In her written statement, Eagle said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is satisfied that the statutory test is met for each of the three bodies.
Eagle said: “The IRGC is a central component of the Iranian state’s security apparatus, answerable directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader.
“Its role extends far beyond that of a conventional military force. It encompasses intelligence activity, the use of proxy actors, and the projection of influence designed to advance Iranian state objectives.”
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said new proscription-like powers to be applied to the Iranian and Russian-linked groups will hold “malign behaviour” to account.
The move to designate three organisations will effectively ban them by making it a criminal offence to support, assist or obtain a material benefit from a designated body.
Cooper said: “As foreign states increasingly seek to back threats on our streets, we are cracking down on those who try to undermine our country and its security. Iran and Russia’s use of proxy groups to carry out state-backed activity on our soil is reprehensible."
Cooper said that the IMCR has publicly claimed responsibility for seven "abhorrent" attacks at locations which are linked to Jewish and Israeli communities, and Persian-language media in the UK earlier this year.
“Their malign behaviour, and anyone who acts on their behalf, must be held to account," she added.
“My message to Iran and Russia, and anyone who does their bidding, is clear. We will take all measures necessary to protect the British people, at home and abroad.”
