(Reuters) – Iran summoned Britain's ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday after London designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under the UK's Countering State Threats Act, warning the move would "not go unanswered," the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.
The move came a day after Britain summoned Iran's Charge d’Affaires Ali Nasimfar in London over what the UK government said was Iran's role in directing proxy groups to carry out attacks across Europe in recent months.
Britain on Monday designated the IRGC and a linked group as a security threat under new powers aimed at preventing foreign states from using proxies for activities such as surveillance and sabotage.
The British government submitted draft legislation to Parliament seeking to ban support for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), citing the need to counter hostile activities backed by foreign states. The move comes in the wake of a series of anti-Semitic attacks across the United Kingdom and forms part of broader efforts to combat espionage, foreign interference, sabotage and politically motivated violence on British soil.
Under the proposed regulations, it would become a criminal offence to invite or express support for the IRGC, assist the organisation in activities linked to the UK, engage in conduct that materially benefits it, or accept financial or other material support provided by or on its behalf.
Alongside the IRGC, the government has also designated the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR) — an Iran-backed group that claimed responsibility for seven attacks on Jewish sites in the UK earlier this year — and Russia's GRU Volunteer Corps. The three organisations are the first to be designated under Britain's new state-threats legislation, which is aimed at strengthening the country's ability to counter hostile foreign-backed activities.