UK Proscribes IRGC as Terrorist Organization — Links Corps to Attacks on Jewish Communities in London

The United Kingdom moved to formally proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization on May 5, 2026 — Day 67 — a step London had considered but delayed for years. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the proscription, explicitly linking IRGC activities to attacks on Jewish communities in London and Britain's need to protect domestic security during the ongoing Iran-US/Israel conflict. The proscription made the IRGC a banned terrorist organization in the UK, meaning membership, support, or funding of the corps would become criminal offenses. Starmer simultaneously condemned Iranian strikes on the UAE as 'unacceptable attacks on a neutral civilian country' and called for diplomatic engagement to end the war. The UK proscription came after the US had designated the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2019. The decision carried significant symbolic weight during the active conflict: it formalized a position that the IRGC's international activities — including drone attacks on UK-flagged vessels, proxy operations against Gulf states, and directed attacks on European Jewish communities — constituted terrorism under UK law. Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the proscription as 'a hostile act' and 'a move to support terrorism' against Iran.