Starmer pledges to bring forward law proscribing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards | UK security and counter-terrorism
Keir Starmer has promised to ban Iran’s Revolutionary Guard by introducing legislation at the next parliamentary session in July.
During a trip to the Kenton united synagogue in north-west London on Thursday, the prime minister said he wanted to “make Britain a country where our Jewish community feels safe”.
A synagogue in Harrow was hit by an arson attack on Saturday night, according to the Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism; This attack caused minor smoke damage but no injuries. A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named due to his age, pleaded guilty to arson without endangering life at Westminster magistrates’ court on Tuesday.
One Interview with the Jewish ChronicleStarmer said he was very concerned about the Iranian regime’s increasing use of proxy agents. He said legislation to ban the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), which the Labor Party has pledged to achieve in opposition, would be brought forward in “a few weeks” for the start of the parliamentary session in July.
Asked about the possibility of banning the group, he said: “On the issue of banning malicious state actors, more generally, we need a law to take the necessary action, and this is a law that we are bringing forward as soon as possible. We are moving to a new session in a few weeks and we will bring that legislation forward.”
The Iranian-linked group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia claimed responsibility for the Kenton attack.
Response to figures showing number of British Jews immigrating to Israel this week At its highest level in 40 yearsStarmer said: “I want to make Britain, as it has been for a long time, a country where our Jewish community feels safe. I am determined to do this. This means making it clear that we stand with our Jewish community.”
Starmer said he wanted the whole country to see the fight against antisemitism “as a fight for all of us; it’s a fight for Britain, a fight for the Britain we love”.
The Guardian understands that the government will introduce legislation in the next king’s speech that would give ban-like powers over “state-sponsored” groups such as the Revolutionary Guard.
The EU listed the IRGC as a terrorist organization in January, ending years of division over the issue in response to the regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters. At the time, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the paramilitary organisation’s role in suppressing the demonstrations meant action was needed. “The pressure cannot go unanswered,” he said.
Phil Rosenberg, Chairman of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, welcomed the decision to ban the Revolutionary Guard. “This is something that the Board of Deputies and social partners have been calling for for a long time, and these calls have intensified in recent weeks,” he said.
In 2023, the United Kingdom rejected calls to ban the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization and agreed to a new sanctions regime that allows ministers to impose sanctions on individuals for their activities within the United Kingdom, not just in Iran.
British Jews feel under siege and are concerned about their children displaying religious symbols in public after a series of arson attacks on Jewish sites, community leaders have warned. Two synagogues in London and a synagogue in a building used by the charity Jewish Futures were targeted, while four Jewish community ambulances were set on fire in north London in the early hours of 23 March.
Anti-Semitic incidents in the UK have increased significantly since the 7 October attacks and Israel’s war in Gaza, according to research by the Community Security Trust, which provides security and support to Jewish communities in the UK. 3,700 incidents were detected in 2025.
