Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he held discussions with Vahid Beheshti during his recent hunger strike outside his Department; and what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the potential merits of proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

On Wednesday 29 March, The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon met with Mattie Heaven to discuss the welfare of her husband, Mr Beheshti, and his call for the UK Government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Lord Ahmad made clear that the UK Government is taking the threats of the Iranian regime, including the IRGC, seriously and highlighted the actions the UK Government is taking to respond robustly to these threats.

The list of proscribed organisations is kept under careful review, but we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription. The UK maintains sanctions on over 300 Iranian individuals and entities including in relation to human rights violations, counter-proliferation, regional activity and support to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. That includes sanctioning the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in its entirety.