About those Iranian Revolutionary Guards:
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guard because he believes that doing so would have no effect on the group and would serve only to make Britain feel “better about ourselves”.
And we can’t have that. Feeling better about ourselves? Whatever next.
The prime minister “utterly condemns” the violence being used by the Iranian authorities, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 500 people in anti-government protests, Downing Street said.
However, Starmer has chosen not to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which would make it illegal to support the group in the UK.
The IRGC has been accused by western intelligence agencies of directing covert operations in Britain, including surveillance of dissidents, intimidation campaigns and planned kidnappings. It also has a central role in funding militant groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and has been proscribed in Canada, Sweden and the US.
No 10 said that on the “issue” of proscription, it would refer people to comments by Sir Richard Moore, the former head of MI6.
Moore told the BBC: “The danger is that something like that is mostly about us feeling better about ourselves, it’s not actually something that will have an impact on the IRGC precisely because that instrument is designed for non-state terror groups, not for parts of the state like the IRGC.”
Not sure I get the distinction here. And Iran certainly doesn’t. Parts of the Iranian state, like the IRGC, are terror groups. No one imagines proscribing the IRGC would miraculously solve all our problems with Iran, but it’d be a start. It’s obviously the right move to make, especially now. But the lawyers, of course, have been busy – and they’re the people Starmer listens to.
The government has accepted the recommendation of Jonathan Hall KC after a review into how to strengthen powers against state threats.
One of the recommendations was a “state threats proscription-like tool”. This would result in the introduction of a new Statutory Alert and Liability Threat (Salt) notice that could be invoked by the home secretary against a foreign intelligence agency and a new offence of “inviting support” for agencies subject to the notice.
A new Statutory Alert and Liability Threat (Salt) notice! Of course. Why did no one think of this before?
Meanwhile.
Mick Hartley 
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