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As international criticism mounts over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) involvement in Tehran's fatal suppression of anti-government protests, the UK government reportedly set to introduce legislation that would enable it to officially outlaw the organisation.
The action comes after the European Union made the decision last month to put the IRGC to its official list of terrorist organisations, adding groups like Islamic State, Hamas, and al-Qaeda.
"If you act like a terrorist, you should also be treated as terrorists," said EU Foreign Affairs Chief Kaja Kallas in justification of the ruling. The announcement was described as a "stunt" by Iran's foreign minister, who also cautioned that it would be a "major strategic mistake."
The UK Home Office stated that it is developing new proscription legislation similar to that of terrorism, which would allow the government to ban hostile state organisations like the IRGC. Ministers have previously stated that current terrorism laws are insufficient to address this issue.
The proposed law would allow more targeted measures, including the ability for police to seize passports from individuals suspected of acting on behalf of the IRGC and to conduct stop-and-search operations without suspicion in high-threat situations or locations connected to hostile state activity, in contrast to current legislation that criminalises membership.
Operating separately from the regular army, the IRGC reports directly to Iran's supreme commander. Because of the legal and diplomatic complexity, government sources told The Times that the law has not yet been finalised. The rule will allow for "much stronger action on state-sponsored organisations like the IRGC," according to former home secretary Yvette Cooper.
The IRGC has already been labelled a terrorist group by the US, and others like Sweden and Canada have followed similarly. The action was made possible in large part by France's delayed decision to approve the EU designation. A spokesman for the UK government reaffirmed that the country "utterly condemns" Iran's use of violence against nonviolent protestors and warned that repression "cannot go unanswered."