Event date: July 13, 2026
The United Kingdom designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under the National Security Act, creating new offences for people who support or assist the organisation. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the measure alongside designations of an Iran-linked proxy group and a branch associated with Russian military intelligence.
Officials described the action as close in effect to listing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, but it used a different legal mechanism. Successive governments had debated full proscription because the force is embedded in the Iranian state and because of concern that such a step could prompt Tehran to expel Britain's ambassador.
Under the new designation, authorities can pursue people who work for, support, assist or receive benefits from the named bodies. Espionage or sabotage carried out on their behalf can bring a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The government said the powers would make it easier to prosecute proxy activity inside Britain.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accused Iran and Russia of using intermediaries to conduct hostile operations. The government cited alleged plots against two journalists from Iran International television, as well as cyberattacks affecting infrastructure in Britain, Australia and Canada, among reasons for acting against the IRGC.
IMCR, whose longer title translates to Companions of the Right Islamic Movement and which is also called HAYI, was designated at the same time. British officials said the group had claimed seven attacks on locations connected to Jewish or Israeli communities, including an arson attack that damaged four ambulances in Golders Green in March. No injuries were reported in the cited fires.
Security Minister Angela Eagle said members of the IRGC's Quds Force were assessed as almost certainly directing IMCR operations across Europe. NBC reported that authorities and intelligence specialists had linked Iran-backed proxies to attacks on Jewish institutions and Persian-language media, often through recruited criminals. These remained official assessments about command relationships.
The third designation covered the Russian GRU Volunteer Corps. The government connected Russian military intelligence with hostile operations including the 2018 Salisbury nerve-agent attack and more recent sabotage conducted through proxy networks recruited around the war in Ukraine.
The July 13 decision therefore extended a framework aimed at foreign-power threats rather than merely adding names to the existing terrorist list. Its practical consequence was to widen criminal liability for support and operational activity in Britain while accepting the diplomatic distinction between a National Security Act designation and full proscription of an Iranian state institution.
The timing risked further weakening diplomatic contact between London and Tehran as fighting involving Iran and the United States intensified. Ministers nevertheless concluded that alleged activity on British soil justified the new measure. The balance between security enforcement and state-to-state communication had shifted toward enforcement.
