Britain has moved to target Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and another Iran-linked organisation using new state-threat powers following a series of antisemitic incidents across the country.
The measures, announced on Monday by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government, are designed to tackle organisations accused of carrying out or supporting hostile foreign state activity. If approved by Parliament, the designations would effectively outlaw support for the groups and give police and intelligence agencies additional powers to investigate and prosecute related activities.
“These new powers will make it easier to prosecute and lock up anyone carrying out their dirty work here in Britain,” Starmer said in a statement.
The IRGC, which is already subject to UK sanctions, is an elite military force established after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and operates under the authority of the country's Supreme Leader.
Britain also designated the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, which authorities said had claimed responsibility for seven attacks linked to Jewish and Israeli communities, as well as Persian-language media outlets.
Among the incidents cited by the government was the arson attack on four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green on 23 March, which authorities described as antisemitic.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as a "deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack", while counter-terrorism police investigated claims of responsibility made by the Iran-linked Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right.
British authorities have also pointed to a broader pattern of threats against Jewish, Israeli and Persian-language media targets amid warnings from MI5 and government officials about Iran-linked hostile activity on British soil.
In addition to the Iran-linked groups, Britain designated Russia's GRU military intelligence agency under the same state-threat framework.
The government said the new powers are intended to strengthen the UK's ability to counter foreign-state threats and protect communities from intimidation, violence and covert influence operations.
Parliament must now approve the designations before they can come into force. Once enacted, the measures would create new criminal offences related to supporting or assisting the designated organisations and expand the powers available to law enforcement agencies to disrupt their activities in Britain.
Europe will send a team of diplomats to Ukraine peace talks rather than a single envoy, EU leaders agreed on Friday at the end of a summit in Dubli...
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched its latest Starship flight into orbit, but failed to recover the rocket’s giant booster. ...
As Central Asia expands its hydropower infrastructure and high-rise construction, seismologists are examining whether large mountain reservoirs cou...
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and energy high on the agenda. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks focused on peace, trade and regional cooperation.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is stepping down amid reports linking him to a woman suspected by U.S. authorities of spying for China, throwing the future of the $4 trillion chipmaker into uncertainty.
Kazakhstan’s security service has arrested Nurlan Zhakupov, CEO of Samruk-Kazyna, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, on suspicion of corruption. Yelzhas Otynshiyev, Chairman of KTZ, Kazakhstan’s national railway firm has also been detained.
Eight people have been killed and at least 17 injured after an apartment building collapsed into a neighbouring construction site in Brooklyn, New York, as rescuers continued searching the rubble for possible survivors.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has backed withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and overhauling the country’s defence doctrine, calling both steps essential to national security and deterrence.
Europe will send a team of diplomats to Ukraine peace talks rather than a single envoy, EU leaders agreed on Friday at the end of a summit in Dublin.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched its latest Starship flight into orbit, but failed to recover the rocket’s giant booster. The 15th test flight lifted off from Starbase in the U.S. state of Texas on Friday (13 November).
More than 30 people have been taken to hospital after a cargo ship collided with a passenger cruise docked on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday (13 November).
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop on Friday (13 November) after a communications failure at air traffic control centres caused chaos at airports and triggered the longest nationwide shutdown since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The son of former CIA Director John Brennan has been charged with “transportation of child pornography”, according to court documents and a U.S. law enforcement official.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment