Iranian dissident Niyak Ghorbani writes what the UK must do now it has proscribed the IRGC
For more than thirty weeks, I have stood outside the Prime Minister’s Office with fellow Iranians, supported by British friends and members of Britain’s Jewish community, calling for one necessary action: the proscription of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Today, that demand has finally been answered. The Government’s decision is long overdue.
It is the central force behind repression inside Iran, terrorism abroad, regional destabilisation and the intimidation of dissidents across Europe, including here in the United Kingdom.
For years, we warned that Britain could not continue treating the IRGC as though it were an ordinary state institution.
Its record speaks for itself: violence against the Iranian people, support for terrorist proxies, threats against journalists and activists, and attempts to silence opposition beyond Iran’s borders.
This decision is therefore important, but it must be the beginning, not the end.
The next step should be the closure of the Islamic Republic’s embassy in London and the expulsion, where legally justified, of diplomats and officials who act in support of the regime’s repressive and terrorist structures.
Those in Britain who support, promote or assist the IRGC in breach of the law must also face firm investigation.
It is also time for the British Government to engage with and support the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people.
Britain should recognise the leadership of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi as the leading figure of Iran’s national democratic movement and work with those committed to a peaceful, democratic transition.
Supporting the Iranian people—not the regime—is the best investment in long-term peace and stability in the region.
This moment belongs to everyone who stood with us throughout these thirty weeks: the Iranians who refused to give up, the British supporters who marched beside us, and members of the British Jewish community who showed genuine solidarity.
This is a victory, but it is not the final victory. Britain has taken an important first step. Now it must finish the job.
