Sunak under pressure to proscribe IRGC
Prime Minister urged by all parties to classify body as a terrorist group in the wake of Oct 7 attacks
SUELLA BRAVERMAN has branded the Government’s refusal to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as “delusional”, as Rishi Sunak came under pressure from Tory MPS and Labour to impose a ban.
The Government is resisting calls for the IRGC to be proscribed as a terrorist group in the wake of Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel at the weekend and Hamas’s terrorist killings on Oct 7.
Ministers including Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, argued on Monday that proscription would jeopardise diplomatic ties with Tehran and threaten a key back channel for communicating with the regime.
However, Mrs Braverman, the former home secretary, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader and the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer have all demanded a ban.
Writing for The Telegraph, below, Mrs Braverman said the defence of keeping channels open was a “weak” argument as it had failed to mitigate the Oct 7 attack or deter the 300 drones or missiles fired on Israel.
Her comments follow an appeal at the weekend by Israel for a terrorist ban on the IRGC. On Monday, the British Board of Deputies, representing British
Jews, also wrote to Rishi Sunak advocating for the move. Proscribing the IRGC would make it a criminal offence to belong to the organisation or invite support for it. Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli ambassador to the UK, told LBC the UK must proscribe the IRGC as she warned the UK could become a target for drones. “Maybe the UK will be next with these kind of drones... they won’t hesitate to do that here,” she said.
In the Commons, Sir Iain appealed directly to the Prime Minister: “Could I please ask him, when he sits down with our international colleagues… to consider proscribing the IRGC – and to do it in a way that will make sure they can no longer foment extremism here in the United Kingdom as well?”
Sir Keir reaffirmed Labour’s demand for proscription, urging the PM to take action to “limit the power of the revolutionary guard to glorify terrorism here in the UK”.
In response, Mr Sunak suggested any steps to further limit the IRGC’S reach would be taken in concert with the UK’S allies. He told MPS: “Yesterday at the G7 we agreed to work together on further measures to counter the Iranian regime and its proxies. It was agreed that we should coordinate those actions and that work is now under way, and obviously at the appropriate time either I or ministers will update the House.”
Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said: “We recognise what a dangerous organisation it is. We have sanctioned it and put in place a regime to do more of this work. I keep this under review, but the police and security services say they have the powers to deal with it here or elsewhere. Having those diplomatic relations means we can deliver a direct message to the Iranians as I have done, speaking to the foreign minister twice in the last seven days. It makes Britain stronger and more able if we can have those conservation and we should keep it that way.”
Although the US publicly called for its allies to proscribe the IRGC after the Oct 7 Hamas attacks, The Telegraph understands American diplomats have privately asked the UK not to do so.
The US has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980, and relies on other Western allies including the UK to act as a backchannel with Iran.
Some US officials have privately raised concerns that if the UK was to proscribe the group, Tehran would sever diplomatic ties with London.
Mrs Braverman will suggest in a speech today that hints by Mr Sunak that the UK could quit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are “inauthentic”. “The UK Government doesn’t have the political will to take on the ECHR and hasn’t laid the groundwork for doing so,” she is expected to say.