The UK government is planning new counter-terrorism powers that would let ministers ban hostile organisations linked to states—expected to include Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—during the next parliamentary session.
A proposed legal route would create criminal offences for supporting or promoting groups that are formally listed under the new “state threat” proscription power. The change is designed to sit alongside existing authorities under the Terrorism Act 2000, while responding to recommendations that the UK adopt powers “equivalent to proscription” for state-sponsored threats.
The move follows increasing international pressure and additional designations abroad. The BBC reported that the IRGC is already listed by several other countries and that the previous Conservative government did not proscribe it despite indicating it might do so in 2023, with maintaining diplomatic relations previously cited as a reason for restraint.
Ministers and lawmakers have pointed to the IRGC’s role in Iran and repeated Western accusations that it sponsors terrorism and supports militant proxies abroad, as well as to concerns about threats linked to Iranian intelligence activity on UK soil.
The BBC said the legislation is expected to be set out in the King’s Speech, and that Labour MPs have argued for the IRGC’s proscription after a series of attacks in the UK that they linked to Iranian-backed actors.
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