The UK government is once again showing itself to be weak against Israel’s enemies, particularly Iran. Despite British fighter pilots risking their lives to thwart an Iranian attack against Israel last month, the UK Foreign Secretary fails to see a reason to outlaw the very terrorist forces that conducted the assault. We must now use all our efforts to pressure the government into taking action against Iran’s terrorist arm, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Lord David Cameron, the former Prime Minister who is now serving as the UK Foreign Secretary, has once again underestimated Israel’s enemies and weakened the UK’s hand in dealing with terror.
This week, Lord Cameron was answering questions from the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee. During it, the Foreign Secretary said: “All of the things we need to do to put pressure on Iran, and to make sure that where they act illegally we can act against them, are in place through our sanctions regime that we have enhanced.
“We have sanctioned the IRGC in its entirety. When I ask law enforcement, police, intelligence services, others, is this extra step of proscription necessary in order to take further action against these people when they do the things that we disapprove of, the answer is no.”
He added: “There is a disadvantage, to be frank about it, from proscription which is it would effectively end diplomatic relations, and while our diplomatic relations are pretty terse, and I say that with meaning as someone who has had very many conversations with the Iranian foreign minister, we are actually able to have that conversation.
“When it comes to trying to stop the escalation of the conflict, when it comes to delivering a very direct message to the Iranians… I want to have that conversation myself, I don’t want to ring up my French counterpart and say ‘could you message the Iranians with this message?’
“I think that is not in Britain’s interest, that wouldn’t strengthen our approach, it many ways it would weaken it.”
It is foolish to think that sanctions alone are enough against this terrorist threat. It is also foolish to claim that communication with the Iranian Regime will stop if the IRGC is banned. Other countries, including the USA, have already banned the IRGC. If the UK bans the IRGC, does this mean the Iranian Embassy in London will stop operating? Does this mean all diplomatic ties cease? If it does, then surely this indicates the reality that the Iranian regime itself cannot be separated from its terrorist activities.
This week, a commander of Iran’s IRGC bragged about Iran’s capabilities and mocked Israel, the UK, and the USA when he claimed that Israel and its allies had used “all its power” to stop Iran’s attack between April 13-14 whereas Tehran used only twenty percent of what it had prepared in order to take action against Tel Aviv.
“Although Iran had not employed all it had in power, Israel and its allies used all they had in power to counter Iran,” said Brig Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of IRGC’s Aerospace Division.
The IRGC is a clear military threat to Israel. It is a terrorist threat to the UK. And the UK government is not doing enough to stand up to this threat, either on behalf of its ally Israel, or for British citizens.
Lord David Cameron needs to use his position to stand up to evil. Otherwise he will be more of a Chamberlain in a world that desperately needs Churchills.
Britain must ban Iran’s IRGC outright. Please write to your MP and the Home Office using our suggested wording. It only takes a few moments: For more information, please go to www.cufi.org.uk/irgc
Here are a few reasons why the IRGC should be banned:
- The IRGC represents a threat to UK citizens, the British Jewish Community, other UK nationals with connections to Israel and general British interests with the Middle East and Gulf states.
- The IRGC supports, arms, trains and funds other terrorist organisations including Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis. These Iranian-backed proxies will be emboldened even more than they already are by not holding the IRGC to account.
- The IRGC’s Quds (Jerusalem) Force aims to act as an army with a mandate to export the Iranian revolution overseas and “liberate Palestine” through destroying Israel, which Iran describes as the “Zionist regime” and a “cancerous tumour” that must be “eradicated.”
- Proscribing the IRGC would not prevent diplomatic engagement with Iran, which the Foreign Office claims. It would make it clear which areas of Iranian activity are unacceptable.
