Pressure in Britain to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization
Pressure is mounting on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a “terrorist organization” amid ongoing protests in Iran.
The British newspaper The Telegraph, Starmer is facing pressure both within the Labour Party and beyond to classify the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, due to its “leading role in the brutal repression of protests in Iran.”
The newspaper reported that the deaths of more than 500 people have been confirmed since the protests began, although the true figure is likely to be significantly higher.
Prominent figures within the Labour Party have joined senior members of the Conservative and Reform parties in urging the Prime Minister to ban the Revolutionary Guard, as a show of solidarity with the protesters.
So far, the Labour Party has resisted calls to ban Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, arguing that such a move would effectively bring diplomatic relations with Tehran to an end.
Iran is facing the most serious threat to its ruling system since 2019, as protests enter their third week and internet access has been cut across the country. In this context, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to “intervene” if security forces continue killing protesters.
Demonstrations took place in London on Sunday, where more than 1,000 protesters gathered in Whitehall demanding “freedom for Iran” and calling on the British government to ban the Revolutionary Guard.
Labour leaders take action
Lord Spellar is leading Labour Party members’ demands to designate the Revolutionary Guard as a “terrorist organization.” He told The Telegraph that “the Revolutionary Guard not only terrorizes its own people, but also runs a global terrorist and criminal network.”
Spellar said the Guard “poses a threat to our security and to Iranians to whom we have granted protection, as has been proven on several occasions,” adding that “the government must now abandon its hesitant stance and ban it.”
Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, also endorsed these calls, stating that “it is necessary to declare that the time of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has come to an end.”
Meanwhile, Lord Cryer, another Labour peer, submitted a question in the House of Lords on the issue, which will require ministers to explain their position, according to The Telegraph.
Pressure from outside the Labour Party
Former Conservative Party leader Ian Duncan Smith stated that the Revolutionary Guard is “the primary tool used by Iran’s regime to enforce its control,” calling for its designation as a terrorist organization.
He added that “any claim by the Foreign Office that refraining from banning the Revolutionary Guard provides diplomatic leverage is not supported by events.”
He continued by saying that “the time has come for the United Kingdom to enhance the protection of its citizens at home, while sending a strong and clear message to those who hope for a better future in Iran by banning the Revolutionary Guard.”
The Reform UK party, which is leading in opinion polls, has also supported banning the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Its leader, Nigel Farage, said that Keir Starmer should move in this direction.
Likewise, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urged the Prime Minister to ban the Revolutionary Guard, a position also advocated by groups representing the British-Iranian community.
