British prime minister Keir Starmer has pledged to introduce legislation within weeks to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), following growing concern over foreign-linked threats on UK soil.
Starmer made the remarks during a visit on Thursday to a London synagogue targeted in a recent arson attack, telling The Jewish Chronicle that new legal powers were needed to act against hostile state actors.
“In relation to malign state actors more generally, proscription—we do need legislation in order to take necessary measures, and that is legislation that we’re bringing forward as soon as we can,” Starmer said.
“We go into a new session of parliament in a few weeks’ time and we’ll bring that legislation forward,” he added.
The proposed move comes after a series of arson attacks on synagogues and Jewish community sites in northwest London, which have left residents on high alert. The incidents followed U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran that began on February 28.
Starmer has said he is “increasingly concerned” about countries using proxies to carry out criminal activity in the UK.
The IRGC was established after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend the country’s clerical leadership and has since developed into a powerful military and economic force. It is widely seen as the ideological core of the Iranian regime.
The organisation controls extensive business interests across Iran, including in key strategic sectors, and has been accused by Western governments of coordinating activities beyond its borders.
In January, the EU agreed to designate the IRGC a terrorist organisation in response to Tehran’s crackdown on mass protests.
The UK government has not yet formally proscribed the group, but Starmer’s remarks signal that a change in policy may be imminent.
