Overview
- The government used the fast‑tracked National Security (State Threats) Act to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a state threat, saying it had identified IRGC‑linked threats to life and intimidation on UK soil.
- Ministers also designated the Iran‑linked Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR) and Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps, actions that will make support or assistance to those bodies a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison and life for sabotage or espionage.
- The move follows a string of incidents cited by officials, including a March arson that destroyed four Hatzola ambulances, alleged assassination plots against Iran International journalists and cyberattacks, and the draft regulations were laid before Parliament this week for expected imminent approval.
- Tehran summoned the British ambassador and condemned the decision as hostile, while UK ministers pledged tougher investigations, extra policing for affected Jewish and Iranian‑diaspora communities, and increased enforcement activity.
- The step aligns the UK with allies that have listed IRGC elements but is legally distinct from proscription under the Terrorism Act, a choice critics say may leave gaps in banning symbols and some organisational markers and that was a key reason for creating the new state‑threat power.