Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I can assure the noble Baroness that my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has this week spoken directly to the Iranian Government. The Iranian ambassador to the United Kingdom is being summoned to see Foreign Office Ministers today. As we speak, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is making a Statement in the House of Commons outlining a range of other measures that the Government intend to take. The noble Baroness can be assured that we are appalled by the actions of the Iranian Government and will continue to make representations accordingly.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, with the focus on the problems in Iran at the moment, and bearing in mind what the Minister has said about what he can and cannot comment on, does he agree that with the Intelligence and Security Committee’s finding that:

“Iran poses a wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat”,


and MI5’s revelation of more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots, the continued failure to proscribe the IRGC leaves a dangerous gap in our national security that cannot continue to be avoided?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right that both the security services and the Government have taken a very serious view of the threat of the Iranian regime at home and abroad. That is why the Government have undertaken to impose the financial sanctions and travel bans I referred to in my answer to my noble friend Lord Cryer. We keep proscription under review. That does not mean that we do not keep security issues under review at all times as well. We will take whatever action is required to protect Britain and British citizens and to ensure that we deflate the conflation that is happening now in Iran.