Iranian journalist attacked in London urges UK to proscribe Revolutionary Guards

An Iranian journalist who was stabbed outside his home in London has joined calls for the UK to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

There have been growing concerns in the UK after the government revealed earlier this year that at least 15 threats had been made by the Iranian regime to intimidate or kill British nationals or UK-linked individuals since 2022.

Although investigations are ongoing, Iran’s charge d’affaires in the UK, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, has denied “any link” to the attack on Zeraati in March.

The IRGC was set up 40 years ago to defend Iran’s Islamic system and has become a major military, police and economic force in the country.

Saman Rasoulpour, an Iranian journalist based in London and a former editor at Iran International, said the Islamic Republic’s intent was to “suppress our voices”.

A government spokesperson said it would “continue to work together to identify, deter and respond to threats from Iran”, adding: “The UK has sanctioned more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in its entirety.”