UK relations with Iran take nosedive ahead of IRGC designation
The designation will put the IRGC in a similar legal category as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the eyes of the UK government, outlawing membership in, financial dealings with and encouraging support for the paramilitary organization.
The Telegraph reported on Monday that the UK government is set to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization.
Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and Home Secretary Suella Braverman are set to publicly announce the decision “within weeks,” according to the newspaper. The report has not been independently confirmed by Al-Monitor.
Word of the planned designation comes several weeks after Britain’s domestic intelligence service, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum, publicly accused the IRGC of plotting to kidnap and potentially kill UK-based individuals deemed to be dissidents.
“We have seen at least 10 such potential threats since January alone,” McCallum said in a speech mid-November. “We work at pace with domestic and international partners to disrupt this completely unacceptable activity.”
