Four men have been arrested on suspicion of spying on locations and individuals linked to the Jewish community in London for Iran.
While the Metropolitan Police has not said the suspects were working for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military branch has a history of operating inside the UK.
Just this week, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for the UK Government to introduce emergency legislation to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, arguing it is “more desperate and dangerous than ever”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Wednesday in the Commons that the UK is “working 24/7 on dealing with any threats to this country”.
He added: “We don’t comment on proscription, but we have made the case that there needs to be legislation to deal with state-backed terrorist groups, and we’re looking into that.”
What is the IRGC?
The IRGC is a branch of Iran’s military created to protect the ruling Islamic Republic.
This includes preventing coups, suppressing dissent and defending government leadership.
The IRGC has been linked to the recent suppression of anti-government protests in the country, in which hundreds of people were killed and thousands detained.
Its activities also include running intelligence operations both in Iran and around the world, alongside the ministry of intelligence and security.
Does it operate in the UK?
The IRGC has been linked to at least 20 credible threats in the UK since 2022.
Speaking to MPs last year, security minister Dan Jarvis said there was a long-standing pattern of the Iranian intelligence services “targeting Jewish and Israeli people internationally”.
The Iranian regime wanted to “stifle criticism through intimidation and fear”, he said.
The IRGC’s activities against the UK can be physical, or involve malicious cyber-activity.
What has it been caught doing before?
In June, a British man was arrested on suspicion of espionage and terrorism offences in Cyprus.
The man was reported to have kept the RAF Akrotiri base on the island under surveillance and was alleged to have links with the IRGC.
Separately, the same RAF site was hit by an Iranian-made drone launched from Beirut in Lebanon earlier this week.
In 2024, an Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati was stabbed outside his home in Wimbledon, south London.
Three suspects identified in connection with the attack were believed to have fled the country within hours of the incident.
Mr Zeraati was working for London-based dissident channel Iran International, which works to provide independent coverage of Iran.
The broadcaster said Tehran’s revolutionary guards had been targeting it.
In a separate case in December 2023, an IT worker was jailed for three-and-a-half years for spying on Iran International before a “planned attack” on British soil.
Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev carried out hostile reconnaissance for others unknown at the London headquarters.
After a trial at the Old Bailey, the Chechnya-born Austrian was found guilty of trying to collect information for terrorist purposes.
In 2024, former British soldier Daniel Khalife was found guilty of spying for Iran.
Having approached a “middle man” by sending him a Facebook message, Khalife told the Iranians he would stay undercover in the British Army for “25-plus years” for them.
Khalife’s trial revealed details about agents working in London.
Describing picking up cash left by his handlers in a Barnet park, he told police: “So they came in some big expensive like 2020 Audi Q7, four blokes inside.
“The creepiest, scariest guys I’ve ever seen… these four IRGC guys.”
Khalife later travelled to Istanbul in Turkey for six days to “deliver a package” to Iranian intelligence, and stayed in contact with his Iranian handlers while posted to a US army base in Texas.
Why has the IRGC not been designated a terrorist organisation?
Recent developments are likely to prompt renewed calls for ministers to proscribe the IRGC, but Downing Street has played down the prospect recently, pointing to comments by the former head of MI6 who said it would have no “practical effect”.
Ministers have said proscription is not intended for state organisations such as the IRGC.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Richard, who served as the chief of the Secret Intelligence Service from 2020 to 2025, suggested the move would be largely symbolic.
“The danger is that something like that is mostly about us feeling better about ourselves, it’s not actually something that will have an impact on IRGC precisely because you know that that instrument is designed for non-state terror groups, not for parts of the state like the IRGC,” he said.
The Government has said it has already used sanctions against Iran to the fullest extent it can.
