Deepening concern over Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard: Advocacy for designated UK as terrorist organization - escalating apprehensions about Tehran-supported cells following recent detentions
The UK is under mounting pressure to take action against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as fears grow that they may have been behind a foiled terror attack aimed at Britain. Since 2022, UK counter-terrorism police have flagged over 20 credible Iranian threats on British soil, targeting people for either kidnapping or killing.
Last weekend, UK counter-terror cops and MI5, accompanied by members of the British special forces, conducted a series of busts targeting suspected members of a terror cell. Armed officers swept across parts of Manchester, London, and Swindon in a coordinated string of high-octane raids, but it's still unclear who was behind the intended terror plot.
Experts weigh in, suggesting it bears the hallmark of the IRGC, specifically the Quds Force, Iran's foreign operations branch. The IRGC is a violent, Islamist-extremist organization that was founded by followers of Ayatollah Khomeini to protect the Islamic Republic of Iran’s core values. They use terror, extreme violence, and ideological warfare to safeguard the Islamic Revolution and target its enemies, with ties to kidnappings, assassinations, and terror attacks.
Just last November, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum provided a threat update, indicating a severe threat from Iran's aggressive intelligence services, referring specifically to the IRGC. Yet, even after several sinister incidents, the UK government refused to act.
Iranian-British journalist Pouria Zeraati was stabbed four times outside his home in Wimbledon, allegedly by Eastern European gangsters hired by the Iranians, who managed to flee the country just hours later. Only a few months earlier, Britain imposed new sanctions on members of an IRGC unit responsible for attempting to assassinate two presenters of Iran International, a UK-based TV channel critical of the Tehran regime.
The potential consequences of delaying proscription efforts have escalated following the arrests on May 4, 2025, as five men (including four Iranians) were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, amplifying calls for swift action from MPs and the public. The continued resistance from the Foreign Office to proscribe the IRGC, in order to preserve diplomatic backchannels to Iran and maintain connections with the U.S., has sparked debate among policymakers and the public.
As of May 2025, while the UK government maintains sanctions against the IRGC, it has yet to officially proscribe them as a terrorist organization, despite cross-party pressure. The delay raises concerns about the UK's commitment to counter-terrorism efforts and the protection of its citizens.
- The ongoing terrorist plots and threats by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against the UK, as increasingly warned by experts and officials, have escalated the need for swift action from the UK government.
- Reports of Iranian involvement in crime cases, such as the stabbing of Iranian-British journalist Pouria Zeraati, have added fuel to the calls for the UK to officially designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
- The news of the arrest of five men, including four Iranians, on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act in May 2025, has amplified the general-news and crime-and-justice debates about the UK's decision not to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organization, despite mounting threats.
- The prolonged delay in proscribing the IRGC despite the growing number of Iranian threats, acolytes, and acts of terror on British soil, has led to a significant decrease in public confidence in the UK's commitment to counter-terrorism efforts and the protection of its citizens.
