Lord Cameron appears to rule out the military arm of the Iranian regime being banned as a terrorist group, as he wants to maintain diplomatic relations with Tehran.
He foreign secretary explained the government’s position in an appearance before the Defense and International Relations Committee of the House of Lords.
Lord Cameron was asked about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which carries out operations both inside and outside. Iran.
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This reportedly includes the capture of ships and the launching of missiles against Syria and Iraq, and the recent attacks against Israel.
There have been calls for the UK to outlaw the IRGC as a terrorist group, but Lord Cameron said this was not necessary and the current status of the sanctioned group as a whole is a strong enough stance.
He told the committee: “All the things we need to do to put pressure on Iran and make sure that when they act illegally we can act against them, are in place through our sanctions regime which we have enhanced.
“We have sanctioned the IRGC in its entirety. When I ask law enforcement, the police, the intelligence services and others, this additional step of banning is necessary so that we can take further action against these people when they do things that we disapprove of, The answer is no.”
He added: “There is one downside, to be frank, to the ban, which is that it would effectively end diplomatic relations, and while our diplomatic relations are quite terse, and I say this meaningfully as someone who has had many conversations with the Iranian foreign minister, we can really have that conversation.
“When it comes to trying to stop the escalation of the conflict, when it comes to sending a very direct message to the Iranians… I want to have that conversation myself, I don’t want to call my French counterpart and say ‘Could you send this message to the Iranians?’
“I think that is not in Britain’s interest, that would not strengthen our approach, in many ways it would weaken it.”
There have been calls for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be announced. Photo: AP
Read more:
What are Iran’s military capabilities?
What impact would banning the IRGC have?
Rishi Sunak confronted New calls to outlaw the IRGC following Iran’s direct attack on Israel in early April.
In response, the UK promised diplomatic action alongside the G7 and then sanctioned Iran’s ability to create and launch drones, as well as parts of the IRGC.
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Among those calling for the IRGC to be banned as a terrorist organization at the time were former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and former Work and Pensions Secretary Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
The ban would mean that being a member of or supporting the IRGC would be illegal.