Suella Braverman says failure to ban the IRGC means «this Conservative government risks ending up on the wrong side of history»; Photo: Jessica Taylor/UK PARLIAMENT/AFP
Suella Braverman has called the government's refusal to declare Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps «nonsense» as Rishi Sunak comes under pressure from Tory MPs and the Labor Party to introduce a ban.
The government is resisting calls to declare the IRGC outlawed as a terrorist group following Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend and the Hamas killings on October 7.
Ministers including Lord Cameron, the foreign secretary, said on Monday that a ban would jeopardize diplomatic relations with Tehran and jeopardize a key channel of communication with the regime.
However, Ms Braverman, a former home secretary , Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Conservative leader and Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer have all called for a ban.
Writing in The Telegraph, Ms Braverman said advocating for keeping channels open was a «weak» argument because it was unable to mitigate the October 7 attack or contain the 300 drones or missiles fired at Israel.
“Rather, this is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says: We support the status quo and see no need to change anything, thank you very much.”
“It is also delusional to claim that our sanctions regime is sufficient to contain the IRGC,” — she said.
“It is naive when we know that the IRGC circumvents sanctions by ensuring that they are not dependent on the British pound. or US dollar when trading with Russia or China or transferring assets to trusted representatives in the region, such as Oman.
“This Conservative Government risks finding itself on the wrong side of history if it continues to stall this important step. If not now, then when? It's time for us to grow a backbone. This is not just about our foreign policy, but also about our own national security and the security of British citizens.»
Rishi Sunak told parliament that any steps to further limit the IRGC's influence would be taken in conjunction with Britain's allies. Photo: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/PA
Her comments follow Israel's call over the weekend to ban IRGC terrorist activities. On Monday, the UK Board of Deputies, which represents British Jews, also wrote to Rishi Sunak supporting the move. Banning the IRGC would make it a criminal offense to belong to or invite support for the organization.
Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK, told LBC that the UK should ban the IRGC, which is what she warned the UK to do. may become a target for drones. «Maybe the UK will be next with drones like this… they won't hesitate to do it here,» she said.
In the House of Commons, Sir Ian addressed the Prime Minister directly: «Can I ask him, when he sits down with our international colleagues… to consider banning the IRGC — and to do so in a way that ensures they can no longer foment extremism here in the UK too?
Sir Keir reiterated Labour's demand for a ban, calling on the Prime Minister to take action to «limit the ability of the Revolutionary Guard to glorify terrorism here in the UK». .
In response, Mr Sunak suggested that any steps to further limit the influence of the IRGC would be taken jointly with Britain's allies.
He told MPs: “Yesterday at the G7 we agreed to work together on further measures to counter the Iranian regime and its proxies. It was agreed that we should coordinate these actions and that work is now underway and obviously either I or the Ministers will inform the House at the appropriate time.»
Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said: “We understand how dangerous this organization is. We have authorized this and introduced a regime to allow more of this work to take place. I have this matter under control, but the police and security services say they have the authority to deal with this here or elsewhere.
“Having these diplomatic relations means that we can deliver a direct message to the Iranians like I did. ended by speaking to the Foreign Secretary twice in the last seven days. If we can maintain these nature reserves, Britain will be stronger and more capable, and we must continue to do so.”
Lord Cameron said that «having diplomatic relations means we can deliver a direct message to the Iranians.» Photo: Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images
While the US has publicly called on its allies to outlaw the IRGC following the Hamas attacks on October 7, The Telegraph understands US diplomats have privately asked the UK not to do so.
The US has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980 and relies on other Western allies, including Britain, to act as a back channel to Iran.
Some US officials have privately expressed concern that what if the UK announces a ban Meanwhile, Ms Braverman in her speech on Tuesday will hint to Mr Sunak that the UK could withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are “false”.
“ The current UK government does not have the political will to challenge the ECHR and has not laid the groundwork to do so. And so it is not surprising that recent noise in this direction is easily dismissed as unreliable,” she will tell the national Conservative conference in Brussels.
“It should be noted that any attempt to include a plan to revoke the ECHR risks losing the Conservative Party's election manifesto throw things back a generation.»
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