Latest news with #IslamicRevolutionaryGuards
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Ministers told to proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as a terrorist group after UK arrests and row over 'hijab and chastity law'
Ministers are under growing pressure to ban Iran 's top religious military organisation amid a growing confrontation with Tehran. More than 550 MPs and peers have signed a letter calling for the 125,000-strong Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp to be outlawed in the UK over the hardline regime's so-called 'hijab and chastity law'. The Islamist government in Iran is facing a major rebellion against its conservative ideology and is clamping down with an attack on women who dared to remove their headscarves. In the letter, whose signatories include Tories Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Suella Braverman, and Labour 's Lord Kinnock, the politicians say the 'mandatory hijab (is) suppressing women who lead the protest and resistance movement to prevent future uprisings'. 'Appeasing this faltering regime betrays democratic values, emboldens its repressive policies, and undermines global security as Tehran continues its nuclear ambitions and terrorism,' it added. 'Given the regime's complete blockade of all avenues for political activity, the international community must recognise the Iranian people's right to regime change. 'The IRGC should be designated as a terrorist organisation.' It came as three alleged Iranian spies arrested by anti-terror police in London were accused of targeting journalists. Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, of St John's Wood, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44 of Kensal Rise and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, of Ealing, were arrested on May 3 under the National Security Act and have been charged with spying for Tehran. The trio are alleged to have been helping the Middle Eastern country's intelligence service between August 14 2024 and February 16 2025, and are accused of targeting individual journalists working for London-based Persian language TV channel, Iran International. All three appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, and it was revealed that they had been granted temporary leave to remain in the UK after claiming asylum. They are said to have arrived in the UK, including by small boats, between 2016 and 2022.
The National
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Fourth Iranian arrested in north-west London amid investigations into 'state plot'
British police arrested a fourth Iranian man on Friday in connection with alleged plot against national security that was being hatched in north-west London. The unnamed man was arrested in the same part of London as three others who were detained in raids by counter-terrorism police last weekend. A statement said the 31-year-old man was arrested under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023. It connected the suspect to three others, aged 39, 44 and 55 a week ago. Intelligence experts have briefed that the UK police appear to have disrupted separate operations by different parts of Iran's security forces. The London investigation is not connected to the arrest of five people last weekend in other parts of the UK. That group was arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism and allegedly belong to Unit 840, which carries out assassination and kidnapping missions for Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Two men aged 29 were detained in Swindon in Wiltshire and Stockport in Cheshire, a 40-year-old was held in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, a 46-year-old in west London and a 24-year-old was detained in the city of Manchester. Reports have identified the Israeli embassy in Knightsbridge as the target of the alleged plotters and officials have claimed the attack was imminent. UK special forces and counter-terrorism police carried out the raids after what appears to have been an extensive surveillance operation by MI5, the UK secret security service. The London arrests are said to have separately involved the round up of men from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence, also known as Vevak, who are more conventionally trained than Unit 840. No target for that plot has been revealed. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, said this week his country 'categorically rejects any involvement' in any alleged plot to conduct attacks in Britain. Iran also called on Britain to provide consular access to the detained Iranians. UK minsters have since revealed that senior government adviser Jonathan Hall had been asked by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to review how new legal counter terrorism measures 'could be applied to modern day state threats, such as those from Iran'. That report is now ready and expected to be revealed in the next few weeks.
