Labour Friends of Israel: The IRGC threat to Britain

LFI

LFI today publishes a new policy paper titled “Iran’s Terror Army Abroad: The IRGC Threat to Britain” which details the growing danger posed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to UK national security and calls for its immediate designation as a terrorist organisation.

The paper, authored by Jemima Shelley, senior research analyst at United Against Nuclear Iran and non-resident fellow at Labour Friends of Israel, provides an in-depth analysis of the IRGC’s activities in the UK and internationally, documenting its extensive network of terror activities and extremist influence operations.

LFI’s new paper authored by Jemima Shelley details how:

• The IRGC has been directly linked to at least 20 foiled terror plots in the UK since 2022, according to MI5’s director-general Ken McCallum;

• MI5 has warned that Iranian regime plots now present “potentially lethal threats to British nationals and UK residents;”

• The former head of MI6 has specifically warned about threats to the British Jewish community;

• The IRGC’s operational methods mirror those of already-proscribed terrorist organisations such as Islamic State, al-Qaida and Hezbollah.

Key recommendations

The paper makes outlines why the government’s current review of terrorism legislation should prioritise proscribing the IRGC:

1. Flexible Approach: The Labour government should fulfil its manifesto commitment to “take the approach used for dealing with non-state terrorism and adapt it to deal with state-based domestic security threats.” If the government determines that it cannot proscribe the IRGC under existing legislation, it should move swiftly to amend the legislation or develop a new legislative mechanism that results in the IRGC, and those who wish to support it, facing the same restrictions to which other proscribed organisations, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, are subject. 

2. Disrupt Extremist Networks: Proscription would prevent its members from operating in any capacity within the UK and thus and constrain the IRGC’s terror-related activities.

3. Counter Radicalisation: Designation would help disrupt the IRGC’s efforts to nurture homegrown Islamist extremism on British soil.

4. Combat Antisemitism: Proscription would limit the IRGC’s ability to spread antisemitism and recruit future operatives in Britain.

5. Comprehensive Strategy: The UK must move beyond sanctions focused solely on the IRGC’s programme of Middle East destabilisation to address the direct threat Tehran’s terror army poses to British nationals.

About the Author

Jemima Shelley is a senior research analyst at United Against Nuclear Iran and a non-resident fellow at Labour Friends of Israel. Previously, she was a senior analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, where she focused on Islamist extremism, women’s rights and civil society movements in Iran and Afghanistan.

Download this policy paper

Lfi Policy Paper 2025 The Irgc Threat To Britain

1.91MB ∙ PDF file

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