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Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls from hundreds of MPs and peers to ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) amid a deteriorating human rights picture in the UK and after three Iranian men were charged with spying in London.
Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock is among those urging the prime minister to outlaw the IRGC, warning “the human rights crisis in Iran continues to worsen”.
It came as three Iranian men living in London were charged under the National Security Act, accused of engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service.
More than 550 MPs and peers, also including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and ex-home secretary Suella Braverman, signed a letter criticising Iran’s “hijab and chastity law”.
They said it “mandatory hijab, suppressing women who lead the protest and resistance movement to prevent future uprisings”.
“Appeasing this faltering regime betrays democratic values, emboldens its repressive policies, and undermines global security as Tehran continues its nuclear ambitions and terrorism,” the letter said.
It added: “Given the regime’s complete blockade of all avenues for political activity, the international community must recognise the Iranian people’s right to regime change.
“The IRGC should be designated as a terrorist organisation,” the letter said.
The UK has previously resisted calls to ban the IRGC over fears it could sever the country’s diplomatic link with Tehran.
But Tory MP Bob Blackman, chairman of the influential backbench 1922 Committee, said “it’s time to change course on our Iran policy”.
Mr Blackman, who coordinated the letter, said: “Our ally, the US, rightly designated the IRGC as a terrorist entity several years ago. While the regime has never been weaker, we must set aside all wrong-headed political and diplomatic calculations and proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist entity — an action long overdue.”
Following the recent arrests and charging of the Iranian men, Mr Blackman said: ““Iranian terrorism has reached our soil. A serious terror plot, involving several Iranians, was recently thwarted in the UK.”
The letter came as Mostafa Sepahvand, Farhad Javadi Manesh and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist the Iranian foreign intelligence service between last August and February.
Sepahvand was also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit serious violence against a person in the UK.
Manesh and Noori have also been charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that serious violence against a person in the UK would be committed by others.
Former Tory MP and minister David Jones said there is a “growing consensus among UK politicians that the time for a new policy on Iran has arrived”.
The MPs backed Iranian opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s 10-point plan to “end the religious dictatorship and transfer sovereignty to the people’s representatives”.
The group calls for an end to compulsory hijab and religion, an end to dictatorship and executions and a democratic Iranian state. The Foreign Office was asked to comment.
Following the charges brought against the three Iranian men, Yvette Cooper promised to strengthen national security powers.
The home secretary said: "I want to thank the police and security services for their continuing work on this very serious investigation, and for their immense dedication to protecting our national security and the safety of our communities.
"The charges that have been laid against these three individuals must now take their course through the criminal justice system and nothing must be done to prejudice the outcome of those proceedings.
"But we will also take separate action to address the very serious wider issues raised by this case.
"The police have confirmed that the foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and Iran must be held to account for its actions.
"We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.”
English (US) ·