by Andrew Fox, spiked
Labour is catastrophically failing to curb Iran’s lethal influence.
The UK government wants credit for finally moving against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It deserves some, though very little.
On Monday, Labour home secretary Shabana Mahmood designated the IRGC as a national-security threat. This decision comes after years of warnings, more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots since 2022 and a recent spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Britain. The lateness of the designation, under the new National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, speaks to Westminster’s paralysis in confronting the Iranian threat.
This is not to say this move has no value. Now that the IRGC has been designated as a national-security threat, prosecutors pursuing cases involving its hired criminals will no longer need to prove a connection to a foreign power in each case. Supporting the IRGC, materially assisting it or receiving benefits from it can now carry a 14-year prison term. Sabotage committed on its behalf may result in a life sentence. Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will welcome these tools.
However, contrary to the government’s spin, the IRGC has not been fully proscribed as a terrorist group. The distinction between this and the national-security designation is substantial. Under the Terrorism Act 2000, mere membership of a proscribed organisation is an offence. So is inviting support for a banned group, recklessly encouraging support and displaying flags or insignia in circumstances that arouse reasonable suspicion of support.