Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Iran’s Regional Activities: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Tuesday 2 March 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Michael Fabricant asked about the recent assessment of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran's regional activities.
  • The UK condemns Iran's regional destabilising activity, including support to militant groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
  • The UK keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review and does not routinely comment on whether organisations are under consideration for proscription.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Michael Fabricant Con
Foreign Affairs
Context

The MP is concerned about the impact of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' involvement in various regions and its designation as a terrorist organisation.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran's regional activities; and if he will make a statement.

Answer from James Cleverly

We have long condemned Iran's regional destabilising activity, including its political, financial and military support to militant and proscribed groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is, in its entirety, subject to the UK's autonomous sanctions. On 18 February, the Foreign Secretary, alongside his E3 and US counterparts, committed in a statement to working with regional parties to address their security concerns.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Michael Fabricant Con
Foreign Affairs
Context

The MP is concerned about the lack of designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation by the UK, in light of its activities beyond the Middle East and its classification by other countries.

Question

As my hon. Friend the Minister will know, it is not just activity in the middle east that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is responsible for; it is not just with Hezbollah. There have been incidents in France and other parts of Europe, and it has caused the United States to ban the Revolutionary Guard and make it a terror organisation. When will the United Kingdom do the same and designate it as a terrorist organisation?

Answer from James Cleverly

We keep the list of proscribed organisations under review. As my hon. Friend knows, we do not routinely comment on whether organisations or individuals are under consideration for proscription. As I say, the IRGC is, in its entirety, subject to our autonomous sanctions regime. The UK, along with our European partners, wholeheartedly condemned the bomb plots in 2018 and 2019, including the one in Paris to which my hon. Friend referred.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific timing for the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organisation was not addressed.

How: We Do Not Routinely Comment On Whether Organisations Or Individuals Are Under Consideration For Proscription.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)