He United Kingdom this Friday appointed the Corps of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) like a “threat to national security” under the protection of new legislative powers to combat hostile activity by foreign States, which penalize support or collaboration with the organization.
He United Kingdom this Friday appointed the Corps of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) like a “threat to national security” under the protection of new legislative powers to combat hostile activity by foreign States, which penalize support or collaboration with the organization.
The measure does not make the IRGC a proscribed terrorist organizationas initially reported, but rather subjects it to a new regime by which it becomes a crime to support or collaborate with the entity, especially through groups linked to it that operate in British territory on behalf of the Iranian State.
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Unlike organizations banned under British anti-terrorism legislation, the IRGC is subject to that new designation regime created by the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, passed by Parliament on Thursday and which comes into force today.
Along with the IRGC, this new legal tool also applies to the Islamic Movement of the Comrades of the Right (IMCR), linked to Iran, and the Russian-backed Volunteer Corps of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU Volunteer Corps).
Those who support, assist, or provide a material benefit to any of these organizations may face up to 14 years in prison, while those who commit acts of sabotage on behalf of these groups may face up to life in prison.
Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Photo: EFE/Abedin Taherkenareh/Archive
The outgoing Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, announced the measure during an event on Monday with members of the Jewish community in the gardens of Downing Street, where he stated that the Government will not allow the United Kingdom to become a “playground” for States that seek to “sow fear, division and violence in our streets.”
The British Government accuses the Iranian and Russian regimes of using intermediary groups and criminal networks to carry out hostile operations on British territory and against its citizens abroad.
