The long arm of Tehran: why the UK should ban the IRGC
Think tank: The Henry Jackson Society
Author(s): Barak M. Seener
April 30, 2025
This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society
The Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sponsors terrorism as part of its mission to export the Islamic revolution around the globe via proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The UK has imposed sanctions on the IRGC and the Labour Party while in opposition forcefully advocated for its proscription. In government, however, Labour has been reluctant to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist entity.
The UK Government must align its foreign policy with its domestic security interests and proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. This would not only enhance British national security but position it as a reliable ally to the US. The re-election of President Trump is likely to lead to the US adopting a policy of maximum pressure against the Iranian regime, whether it be further sanctions or strikes against Iranian facilities. As such, just as the first Trump Administration proscribed the IRGC as a terrorist organisation in 2019, the UK Government must follow suit.
Furthermore, the IRGC has been proscribed in its entirety as a terrorist organisation by Sweden, the US and Canada. Yet the UK Government has been reluctant to follow suit, claiming that it would prevent it from diplomatically engaging with the Iranian regime.
At present, hosting IRGC events on UK territory, allowing for rhetoric, praising violence against minorities and promoting violence is made possible by the UK’s sanctions legislation and counter-terrorism legislation at time working at odds to one another. Not only do the IRGC and its agents support radicalisation within the UK, the IRGC has also tapped into criminal gangs to conduct surveillance and intimidate opponents of the Iranian regime.
The IRGC has even conducted assassination plots on UK soil. In January 2024, the IRGC sought to assassinate two British-Iranian journalists working at Iran International, an opposition media outlet. As a result, the IRGC poses a security risk.
Elizabeth Samson’s 2023 report for the Henry Jackson Society identified that despite the IRGC being sanctioned, sanctions are often not enforced properly. The UK’s Terrorism Act 2000 should therefore be interpreted expansively to cover international as well as national terrorism. This would position it to complement the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 and National Security Act 2023.
