The UK government has designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after attacks on the Jewish community and Iranian dissidents, Sky News first reported on Monday.
Ministers fast-tracked the National (State Threats) Bill 2026, as promised by the prime minister. The existing legislation to proscribe terror groups did not extend to state-backed groups.
As well as the IRGC, the UK is designating two other organizations: The Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR), an Iran-linked militant group also known as Hakarat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), and the GRU Volunteer Corps (GRU VC), a network of Russian volunteer and proxy formations overseen by Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU).
IMCR claimed responsibility for seven attacks against Jewish communities, journalists and Israeli-linked targets in the UK and Europe between March and May 2026, including the antisemitic arson attack on four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green.
It will now be a criminal offense to invite support for, or express an opinion or belief that is supportive of, the IRGC IMCR and GRUVC; assist them in carrying out UK-related activities or engage in conduct likely to materially assist it; or accept or retain a material benefit provided by or on behalf of them.
Fight must continue against IRGC network
Some offenses carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Home Secretary concluded there is sufficient evidence to reasonably believe all three organizations are engaged in foreign power threat activity and that designating them is necessary to protect the UK's safety and national interests.
"That is not a decision to celebrate without asking why it took this long, but it is the right one, and I welcome it," Roger Macmillan, a former director for the Iranian diaspora site Iran International, told The Jerusalem Post.
"Proscribing the IRGC is the floor, not the ceiling. The real fight now is against the network around it: the front charities, the so-called Islamic centers and education centers that launder its ideology into British communities, the online broadcasters and the social media influencers who do Tehran's work for it. None of that stops because one organization has been added to a schedule."
Macmillan said proscription of the IRGC must now be matched with the political will and resources to support the Police and the Security Services to actively go after networks and bring people to justice, "not just designate an organization on paper."
"Today is the right first step, many years too late. The hard work starts now."