The United Kingdom has banned Iran's powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and declared an Iran-backed proxy group, the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (IMCR), a terrorist organization. The government stated that the IMCR is responsible for a series of arson and vandalism attacks targeting Jewish sites in Britain.
Security Minister Angela Eagle said in a statement that the IMCR has claimed responsibility for seven attacks within the U.K. These incidents include fires at synagogues and Jewish charity ambulances, as well as at a Persian-language media organization critical of Iran's government. No injuries were reported in these attacks. Intelligence officials believe that members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force were directing the IMCR's actions across Europe.
The IMCR emerged online earlier this year and has also claimed attacks on synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands. Law enforcement and intelligence experts note a rise in attacks across Europe attributed to Iran-backed proxy groups, often targeting the Jewish community and Iranian diaspora media critical of the Iranian government. These groups frequently recruit members of criminal organizations to carry out sabotage and other operations.
This action follows a recent conviction where two Romanian men received prison sentences for stabbing a journalist from a Persian-language television station, an act the judge determined was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state. The European Union designated the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization in January, citing Tehran's crackdown on domestic protests.