Call to Proscribe the IRGC Amid Escalating Cyber and Ideological Threats to the UK

 

 

As Iran’s ballistic missiles strike hospitals in Israel, another battle is being waged far closer to home—one that is unfolding quietly, invisibly, and alarmingly within Britain’s digital and civic infrastructure.

We Believe in Israel (WBII), in partnership with the Forum for Foreign Relations (FFR), The Shield of David, and Stop The Hate UK, is proud to announce the relaunch of our campaign calling on the UK Government to fully proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under the Terrorism Act 2000.

To support this campaign, WBII and FFR have released a new Parliamentary Briefing:

The IRGC’s Cyber Threat to the United Kingdom

This critical report exposes the full scope of the IRGC’s digital and ideological operations within Britain—operations that directly target our parliamentarians, universities, civil society, diaspora communities, and democratic institutions.

 


📘 About the Briefing: The IRGC’s Cyber Threat to the United Kingdom

While the IRGC is widely known for its role in regional terrorism and proxy warfare, this briefing demonstrates how it also poses a direct and growing domestic threat through its cyber units—APT35, MuddyWater, and the Mabna Institute. These entities have been linked to:

  • Hacking into UK Parliament email systems, including those of sitting MPs

  • Targeted cyber operations against academics, analysts, and critical infrastructure

  • Intellectual property theft from British universities

  • Cyberstalking and intimidation of Iranian dissidents on UK soil

  • Sectarian propaganda promoted through UK-based schools, charities, and mosques

  • Promotion of antisemitism and radicalisation via cultural institutions

The threat is no longer theoretical. In 2022 alone, MI5 linked at least 15 domestic plots to Iranian operatives. Simultaneously, IRGC-aligned groups have filmed children in London pledging allegiance to Iran’s Supreme Leader—a chilling sign of deep ideological infiltration.

 

Read Here


🛡 Why We Must Act Now

The IRGC remains unproscribed in its entirety. This legal vacuum leaves UK institutions exposed to exploitation and subversion by a regime that openly calls for Israel’s annihilation and undermines British democratic values.

The IRGC is not merely a foreign threat—it is operating here, using British civil space as a platform for disinformation, intimidation, and ideological radicalisation.

 

✉️ Write to Your MP

Your voice can help make this happen.
Write to your MP today and urge them to support the proscription of the IRGC. We have prepared a model letter you can use or adapt:

 

Click Here to Send Your Letter

 

Urgent Call for the Full Proscription of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)

I am writing to you as a constituent to express my deep concern about the growing threat posed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the security and democratic integrity of the United Kingdom. I respectfully urge you to support the full proscription of the IRGC under the Terrorism Act 2000.

A new briefing published by We Believe in Israel and the Forum for Foreign Relations—titled The IRGC’s Cyber Threat to the United Kingdom—presents compelling evidence that the IRGC is no longer simply a regional destabiliser. It has become a direct and escalating threat within our own borders.

The report outlines the IRGC’s involvement in:

  • Cyberattacks on Parliament and elected officials

  • Theft of academic and commercial intellectual property

  • Harassment and intimidation of Iranian dissidents living in the UK

  • Promotion of sectarian propaganda and antisemitism via UK-based institutions

  • Exploitation of British charities, universities, and civil society organisations

In 2022, MI5 linked at least 15 plots on British soil to Iranian operatives. Despite these warnings, the IRGC remains unproscribed—leaving our institutions and communities vulnerable to further harm.

I therefore ask you to:

  1. Raise this matter urgently with the Home Secretary

  2. Support the full proscription of the IRGC, including its cyber and ideological arms

  3. Advocate for a formal inquiry into Iranian state-linked activity in the UK

  4. Champion better protections for British-Iranian dissidents and at-risk communities

This is a matter of national security, public safety, and democratic resilience. The IRGC is operating here, now—and we must respond with the seriousness it warrants.

Thank you for your attention. I would greatly appreciate a reply outlining your views and whether you will support this call for action.

Yours sincerely,

 

 


🔎 Our Recommendations

The briefing calls for urgent and concrete action, including:

  • Full proscription of the IRGC under the Terrorism Act 2000, encompassing its cyber and ideological wings

  • Increased regulatory scrutiny of UK charities, schools, and universities with known IRGC ties

  • Enhanced cybersecurity protocols across public institutions and civil society

  • Protection measures for British-Iranian dissidents and whistleblowers

  • A formal government inquiry into Iranian operations, disinformation campaigns, and community-level influence in the UK


🤝 Acknowledgements

We extend our deepest thanks to our partners who helped bring this briefing to life:

  • Stop The Hate UK, for your tireless work exposing extremist networks and defending vulnerable communities

  • The Shield of David, for your steadfast commitment to countering antisemitism and standing up for truth

  • The Forum for Foreign Relations, whose intellectual leadership and rigorous research underpinned every page of this report

, we reaffirm our shared mission: to confront extremism, defend democracy, and protect civil society from those who seek to undermine it from within.