The government must stop listening to the “overtures” of the Biden administration in fighting the national security threat posed by Iran, parliament was told by a conservative MP.
Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith said Britain should “pay no heed” to U.S. political pressure over proscribing a military arm of the regime which he says poses “immediate threats” to domestic security.
Speaking on Wednesday, the MP said: “Reports suggest that the UK has come under pressure from the Biden Administration over the question of proscription, which jars with their active decision not to delist the organisation from their own proscription list.
“The UK government must pay no heed to these overtures and instead put our national security interests first,” he said.
The newspaper claimed that the U.S. State Department wants the UK to play a key role as interlocutors with Tehran, which would be undercut by the designation.
The claims were denied by the United States. A spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email: “Our views on the IRGC have not changed one iota.
“We encourage our allies and partners to use any appropriate tools to pressure the IRGC,” the spokesperson said.
‘Grave and Growing’ Threat
Addressing International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell in the debate, Labour MP John Cryer questioned if senior UK government officials were blocking the proscription of the terrorist-linked organisation.“I have a lot of respect for the minister, but I have heard minister after minister expressing sympathy with full proscription at the dispatch box, and then nothing happens.
“That leads me and members on both sides of the House to the conclusion that FCDO [Foreign Office] and Home Office Ministers sympathise with the idea of proscription, but that somebody in Downing Street, the FCDO, or the Home Office is blocking it,” he said.
Clarke-Smith, who led the debate, added that the IRGC’s “charge sheet” for attacks on the UK is “grave and growing.”
He said: “Fifteen planned terror assassinations in the UK have been foiled by MI5 since 2022; British civilians have been killed around the world, as have UK armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan; an attempted bomb attack on British MPs in Paris a few years ago; the radicalising of British citizens in the UK using a network of religious centres, one of which is undergoing an active Charity Commission inquiry; the use of British crime gangs to gather information for terror attacks in the UK; attempted attacks on a London-based Iranian news channel, harming freedom of the press in this country; and cyber-attacks against UK critical national infrastructure and this place.”
The Tory politician added that the Commons “voted unanimously” to ban the IRGC over five months ago. “So the question now is, what are we waiting for?”
Clarke-Smith said during that time, the IRGC’s activities have expanded and “concerns are growing across the UK.”
“The Iranian regime is ruthlessly holding the threat of terrorism and its expanding missile capabilities over our heads,” he said, adding, “There is a real risk that the UK and our western allies will become the agents of Iran’s deterrence here.”
Ban Under Review
Responding to the MP’s concerns, the Foreign Office minister once again refused to confirm that the government would proscribe the Iranian military outfit.Mitchell said that since last October, more than 70 Iran-linked individuals and entities have been sanctioned by Britain for human rights abuses, including Iranian Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.
He added: “Over the past 18 months, we have seen the regime orchestrate multiple credible threats to the lives of those living in the UK, including towards media organisations and journalists.
“We will always stand up to such behaviour from foreign nations, because our priority is the safety and security of the UK and those who live here. We have repeatedly made it clear to the Iranian regime that the threats are intolerable and will be met with a significant response,” he said.
The minister added that work was being carried out with “international partners” to “identify, deter and respond” to the threats.
“It is time now—indeed, it is long past time—for the regime to listen,” he said, adding, “It must stop threatening the lives of ordinary people in Iran and elsewhere, including in this country.”
Mitchell said that it was not routine to comment on whether an organisation is under consideration for proscription, but said matters are being kept under a “close review.”
He concluded: “We are working relentlessly across government and with the international community to hold Iran to account for its unacceptable behaviour, its appalling treatment of its own people, its reprehensible support for Russia’s illegal war, and its escalating nuclear activities.”
