Time to get tough on Tehran, Rishi

PM under pressure to label their military as terrorists

RISHI Sunak was last night under mounting pressure to designate Iran’s military as a terrorist group following its attack on Israel.

The Prime Minister condemned Tehran as a ‘despotic regime’ in the wake of its unprecedented missile blitz at the weekend.

Mr Sunak praised RAF pilots who helped shoot down more than 300 drones and missiles fired at Israel by Iran on Saturday night – and said that defending Israel’s security was a ‘non-negotiable’ priority for the UK.

But he faced calls from both senior Tories and Labour to take tougher action against Tehran, including formally proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ( IRGC) as a terrorist organisation. Israel’s ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely backed the move, saying Iran was ‘a threat to the UK as well’. She told LBC: ‘Maybe the UK will be next with these kind of drones... they won’t hesitate to do that here.’

The PM is expected to use a phone call with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu today to urge him to show ‘restraint’ in responding, amid fears the region is sliding towards a wider war.

In the Commons yesterday, Mr Sunak said: ‘With this attack Iran has once again shown its true colours. They are intent on sowing chaos... on further destabilising the Middle East. We’re working urgently with our allies to deescalate the situation and prevent further bloodshed.

‘We want to see calmer heads prevail and we’re directing all our diplomatic efforts to that end.’

Mr Sunak also acknowledged that the behaviour of Iran, including the actions of the IRGC, ‘poses a significant threat to the safety and security of the UK’.

The IRGC operates as an elite military force for Iran’s regime and works closely with Hamas and Hezbollah, which have already been designated as terrorist groups. Proscribing the IRGC would squeeze its ability to operate in the UK by making it a criminal offence to deal with it or promote it. It would also effectively label Iran a terrorist state.

But Whitehall sources warned that proscribing the IRGC would make it impossible to talk to the organisation directly, removing a valuable diplomatic back channel.

The move is being resisted by Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, who has spoken of the need to have ‘diplomatic channels as a route to de-escalation’, including on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman urged the PM to ‘put the UK’s security first’, adding: ‘We have known for years that the IRGC is the world’s chief sponsor of terrorism.’ Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the PM: ‘All roads lead back to Tehran when it comes to the terrible violence and wars in the Middle East.’

Labour also backed tougher action against the IRGC. Sir Keir Starmer said Iran was ‘a regime that sponsors terror across the Middle East and beyond, that murders and represses its own people, and supports Putin’s war efforts in Ukraine’.