UK to introduce new anti-terror powers targeting state-backed groups including Iran's IRGC

The UK government is preparing to introduce new anti-terror legislation that will enable it to ban state-backed groups such as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the upcoming parliamentary session.

These powers will allow the government to formally designate such groups as terrorist organisations and create new criminal offences for individuals who support or promote them.

The legislation is expected to be announced in the King's Speech on 13 May.

The IRGC, originally established to defend Iran's Islamic system, has evolved into a major military, political, and economic force with tens of thousands of active personnel.

Western nations have accused the IRGC of sponsoring terrorism abroad.

This move follows calls from Labour MPs after a series of antisemitic attacks linked to groups with alleged Iranian ties.

One Islamist group suspected of Iranian connections, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, claimed responsibility for recent attacks on Jewish community ambulances in north London and other incidents across the UK and Europe.

Other European countries and the European Union have already proscribed the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer emphasized the need to address malign state actors and indicated that the government would bring forward the legislation "as quickly as possible." The previous Conservative government had not proscribed the IRGC, citing the importance of maintaining diplomatic relations with Iran.

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