Britain will officially declare Iran’s security forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has played a major role in the violent suppression of ongoing protests, as a terrorist group within weeks, the Telegraph reported on Monday.
UK official sources told the BBC that the British government’s plans to proscribe the IRGC was “broadly correct” but no announcement was imminent yet.
The IRGC announced on 25 December that seven people allegedly linked to Britain were arrested for their role in the nationwide protests. Following the arrests, on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused the British government of playing a “destructive role” in anti-government demonstrations.
The inclusion of the IRGC in the terror list would mean the criminalisation of support for IRGC’s activities, or any affiliation with the group in Britain.
European institutions and states continue to harden their positions towards Iran as protests throughout the country continue four months after the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Jîna Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.
The European Union previously decided in December to impose further sanctions on Iran for violating human rights during the suppression of the nationwide uprisings.
At least 476 protesters have been killed by security forces in Iran and 100 sentenced to death according to a December report by Iran Human Rights (IHR). Of the 476 people killed, 64 are children and 34 are women.
The US had already designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organisation in April 2019.