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UK Lawmakers Urge Government to Label Iran's Revolutionary Guard


FILE - Iran's Revolutionary Guard members march during an annual military parade outside Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2023.
FILE - Iran's Revolutionary Guard members march during an annual military parade outside Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2023.

British lawmakers and members of the upper house of parliament have called on the government to label Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, saying it would be a step toward restoring stability to the Middle East.

Proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist group would mean it would become a criminal offense in Britain to belong to the group, attend its meetings or carry its logo in public. The IRGC is already subject to British sanctions.

In a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, more than 60 lawmakers from the lower house of parliament and members of the House of Lords said, "given the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, it is now more urgent than ever to proscribe the IRGC."

"We call upon our government to recognize the urgency of proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organization and proceed to do so. Such a decision would constitute a significant step towards peace, stability, and justice in the Middle East and beyond," read the letter, signed by senior Conservatives such as Iain Duncan Smith, David Davis and David Jones.

In January, a foreign office minister said Britain was actively considering proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organization but had not reached a final decision.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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