Keir Starmer is coming under pressure from Labour MPs to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terror organisation in the wake of the bloodbath unfolding on the streets of Iran after a senior minister dismissed the proposal.
Abandoning pledges made by Labour under Keir Starmer’s leadership in Opposition, business secretary Peter Kyle insisted that the UK government has “already used the sanctions against Iran to the full extent we can.”
The decision to not take action against the IRGC comes despite the Labour government controversially using the counterterrorism powers to proscribe protest group Palestinian Action.
Mr Kyle told Times Radio: “When you look at domestic terror legislation, the way that we proscribe domestic organisations is using domestic legislation.
“The independent reviewer has said that that isn’t appropriately used for state bodies, but we are looking very closely at these issues.
“It is no question and I don’t think anybody would question the fact that this government cares very deeply about civilians and people in Iran. We will do everything we can, but when we use domestic legislation we need to make sure that it’s appropriate use of it.”
The refusal comes despite foreign secretary Yvette Cooper supporting the proscription of the IRGC in 2023 on behalf of Labour in opposition when she was shadow home secretary, in an apparent U-turn.
Ms Cooper said in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI): “As part of the strategy, Labour will bring forward new changes to legislation to allow the government to ban hostile state-sponsored organisations who undermine our national security”.
“So instead of trying and failing to use counter-terror legislation to proscribe organisations like Wagner or IRGC, we will introduce a bespoke proscribing mechanism to address state-sponsored threats”.
At the time, 125 cross-party MPs signed a letter backing the move to proscribe the IRGC which was being resisted by Rishi Sunak’s government.
Speaking to The Independent, David Taylor, the Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead, said: “I stand with the Iranian people fighting for freedom. Their bravery in protesting for their fundamental rights in the face of such oppression is inspiring.
“To watch the IRGC respond by gunning down peaceful protestors is a dark and despicable crime, one which is all too familiar to the Middle East. From Syria to Yemen to Ukraine, the malign role of Tehran in sowing destruction is beyond any doubt.
“We also know the threat the IRGC poses on our streets, from assassination plots to threatening journalists. The government must urgently bring forward the legislation proposed by Jonathan Hall KC to tackle this state-threat and fulfil our manifesto commitment.”
Leeds South West and Morley MP Mark Sewards, the chair of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), added: “Tehran’s terror army is not just a menace to the people of Iran, but is a direct threat to stability in the Middle East and UK national security.
“The government must act to proscribe the IRGC by bringing forward without delay the legislative proposals outlined by Jonathan Hall KC to combat state threats.”
There has been sustained on the government to proscribe the IRGC for years because it is believed to be behind state sponsored terrorism from Iran.
Added to that it has been at the forefront of the brutal suppression of the Iranian people by the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led theocratic regime and is now leading the efforts to put down the protests including, according to reports, gun down people on the streets.
The US has already proscribed the IRGC and hopes had been raised that the UK would follow suit when Heidi Alexander said on Sunday that the issue was kept under review.
But asked whether he was ruling out a ban on the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) or whether there could be some kind of ban but not via domestic legislation, Mr Kyle said: “We’ve already used the sanctions against Iran to the full extent we can.”
He added that Sir Keir Starmer was working with international partners to see how “we can bring international pressure to bear” on Iran.
But activists are increasing pressure for a change of mind on the issue.
Laila Jazayeri, director of the Association of Anglo-Iranian Women in the UK, said the IRGC had already gone too far.
Speaking at the demonstration on Sunday, she said: “The prime minister should proscribe the deadly force IRGC, that is killing people inside Iran.”
Mr Kyle also warned that the UK would need to “see how this unfolds” when asked if the government would support the US if it decided to strike on Iran.
Asked whether Britain would support this kind of American intervention, the business secretary told Sky News: “Well there’s a lot of ifs in the question itself, so we have to see how this unfolds.
“We need to understand specifically what Donald Trump and America is proposing.”
He said that the relationship between the US and UK had “never been stronger” and “the people of Iran should get the government they choose and the government of Iran should not, in any way, be cracking down in a murderous way which we’ve seen so far.”
Mr Kyle added: “This is about us supporting people of Iran in their time of need so that the people of Iran can have their voices heard and be the masters of their own destiny.”