UK plans to ban Iran Revolutionary Guards over alleged role in attacks on Jewish sites

London: The UK government announced plans on Monday to ban Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a threat to national security, alongside an Iran-linked group accused of a series of attacks against the Jewish community.

The group, the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (IMCR), also known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, has claimed responsibility for seven attacks across the UK, according to the British government.

In a statement, Security Minister Angela Eagle said the group had admitted carrying out a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London in recent months, including fires at synagogues, Jewish charity ambulances and the premises of a Persian-language media organisation critical of the Iranian government. No injuries were reported in the incidents.

"Sitting behind IMCR were members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, who almost certainly directed IMCR attacks across Europe," Eagle said.

The Qods Force is the IRGC's overseas operations unit.

British authorities said the group emerged online earlier this year and has also claimed responsibility for attacks on synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands.

According to law enforcement agencies and intelligence experts, Iran-backed proxy groups have been linked to a growing number of attacks across Europe, with Jewish communities and Persian-language media outlets frequently targeted.

Officials said such groups often recruit members of criminal networks to carry out acts of sabotage and other attacks.

Earlier this month, two Romanian men were sentenced to prison for stabbing a journalist working for a Persian-language television channel. The judge in the case said the attack had been carried out on behalf of the Iranian state.

Iran has not yet commented on the UK's allegations.

The European Union had already designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation in January, citing Tehran's violent crackdown on anti-government protests.

AP