Keir Starmer vows to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terror group in next parliament

Susanna Siddell
Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:29:16 +0000

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terror group in the next parliament.

The legislation will follow a barrage of demands to outlaw the paramilitary group after much of the western world had already done so, including the US, Canada, Australia and the EU, while Britain stalled on the matter.

Some Middle Eastern countries have also proscribed the organisation already, such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Now, Britain will join the growing list after Sir Keir said legislation to ban the group will be introduced in the chamber in a few weeks' time.

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Sir Keir, while Leader of the Opposition, promised that Labour would ban the paramilitary organisation - and, with almost two years of his premiership gone, his Government is yet to fulfil that promise.

The Prime Minister made his latest announcement while visiting Kenton United Synagogue in London on Thursday after the alleged arson attack on the place of worship.

On April 19, a bottle, which was believed to contain an accelerant, was hurled through the building's window.

It is just one of the latest antisemitic arson attacks being carried out across the capital.

Counter-terrorism police are probing whether Iranian-backed "thugs for hire" are launching the attacks on the city's synagogues.

At the London synagogue, Sir Keir said he was "very worried" about the Iranian-backed proxies.

He told the Jewish Chronicle: "In relation to malign state actors more generally, proscription, we do need legislation in order to take necessary measures, and that is legislation that we're bringing forward as soon as we can.

"We go into a new session in a few weeks' time, and we'll bring that legislation forward."

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The decision has followed months of pressure piled on from both by parliamentarians and protesters flocking to the streets of Westminster to call for the ban.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: "Our allies from Europe to Canada and the Gulf have already acted, and the UK is lagging behind.

"If the Government brings forward legislation as the Prime Minister has promised, we will back it and support a speedy passage through Parliament. There is no excuse for further dither or delay."

Meanwhile, Phil Rosenberg, the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jewish, said that he welcomes the step towards the ban.

"We will be engaging with the Government to ensure the requisite actions are taken to keep our community and our country safe from the Iranian and wider Islamist threat," he assured.

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), a radical jihadist group, has claimed repsonsibility for a number of the attacks across the capital in recent weeks.

At the visit, alongside Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Sir Keir said it was "very important" counter terror police work tightly with the affected communities and Jewish watchdog, the Community Secuirty Trust.

He further called on the PM to ban the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) along with "similar organisations".

"It is long overdue. No one can expect our Jewish community and peace-loving people in this country to feel at ease as long as that ban is not in place," Sir Ephraim said.