Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
1/36. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the EU’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group.
We work very closely with our allies, but EU designations are a matter for the EU. It is the Government’s long-standing position not to comment on the detail of intelligence and security matters—for instance, whether specific organisations are being considered for proscription in the UK—but I can say that in concert with our international partners, we will use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK from state threats.
Given Iranian malign influence on the streets of London, Iran’s web of proxies, the menace that it poses to world peace, and recent reports that as many as 30,000 protesters may have been killed by the IRGC, will the UK join the EU, the United States, Canada and Ukraine in imposing further sanctions? Is it not time for our Government to formally proscribe the IRGC, which is surely not the servant of the Iranian people?
My hon. Friend is right to raise his concerns in the way that he does. I can inform him and the House that on 13 January the Foreign Secretary set out the action that the Government are taking in co-ordination with allies, in response to the consistent threat that the Iranian regime poses to stability, security and freedom, and that last week the Foreign Secretary announced a further sanctions package targeting 10 individuals and one organisation involved in human rights abuses in Iran. We are continuing to monitor the situation very closely, and we urge Iran to protect fundamental freedoms, including access to information and communications.
Does the Minister accept that the IRGC is responsible for many acts of terrorism? While we appreciate the difficulty that arises from its being a state organisation and the reluctance to proscribe a state organisation, is it not a fact that Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has come up with a formula to allow that to happen? If so, why do the Government not bring it forward with the maximum speed?
We are very grateful to Jonathan Hall for the work that he has done. We are taking forward all his recommendations on strengthening our state threats powers, including the development of a proscription-like tool that will allow us to ban the activity and operations of foreign state-backed organisations.