Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of individuals linked to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps currently operating within the United Kingdom.

Though we do not routinely comment on operational matters or specific threats, the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign states. The UK Government continually assesses potential threats to the UK and its residents and will continue to take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms and safety in the UK very seriously.

We recognise the serious threat posed by the IRGC and will not hesitate to take the most effective measures against the Iranian regime and its proxies. The National Security Act 2023 strengthens our powers to counter state threats, including from Iran, and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt these threats.

We continue to take strong action and hold the Iranian regime to account. The UK has imposed more than 550 sanctions on Iranian individuals and organisations who enable such behaviour. This includes the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in its entirety. Last October, the UK sanctioned IRGC financier, Ali Ansari, freezing over £100m in UK property. On 4 March the UK summoned the Iranian Ambassador in response to Iran’s role in recent events across the Middle East.

We have already placed Iran – including the IRGC - on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, meaning anyone acting at the direction of the Iranian state in the UK will need to declare their activities or risk prosecution and imprisonment.

The Government's top priority is our national security, and we will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK, and its people, from any Iran-linked threats.