The IRGC, pictured on parade in Tehran, should be designated a terrorist group by the UK, experts say. Photo: Iranian Presidency / AFP
The IRGC, pictured on parade in Tehran, should be designated a terrorist group by the UK, experts say. Photo: Iranian Presidency / AFP
The IRGC, pictured on parade in Tehran, should be designated a terrorist group by the UK, experts say. Photo: Iranian Presidency / AFP
The IRGC, pictured on parade in Tehran, should be designated a terrorist group by the UK, experts say. Photo: Iranian Presidency / AFP

Tony Blair Institute sets out case for proscribing Iran’s IRGC


Paul Carey
  • English
  • Arabic

The UK should proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with immediate effect, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) has said in a report.

In the paper Making the Case for the UK to Proscribe Iran’s IRGC, the institute outlines a number of compelling reasons to proscribe the IRGC.

For more than 43 years, the IRGC has been responsible for plotting global terrorist attacks, hostage-taking and other offences on foreign soil — including in Europe and the UK — as well as human rights violations in Iran, the TBI report says.

It also states that since 2015, there has been a surge in IRGC activity in the UK, Europe and the US.

Most recently, MI5 last year acknowledged the real threat from Iran’s “aggressive intelligence services” to kidnap or kill UK-based people.

The report said IRGC-related propaganda efforts to nurture home-grown extremism on UK soil are also escalating and bear a similarity to those pursued by ISIS and Al Qaeda.

Radicalisation by the IRGC is said to include the dissemination of Islamist-extremism propaganda designed to recruit western citizens for terrorist-related operations, as well as activities in the UK promoting the IRGC and its ideology, including at mosques, charities and schools.

The report also states that the IRGC remains the biggest supporter of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK. Efforts to restrict the latter’s activities will be undermined as long as this support goes unchecked.

The IRGC is committed to “armed resistance to the state of Israel and aims to seize all Palestinian territories and Jerusalem from Israel. It supports terrorism in Iraq and the Palestinian territories. These are the same grounds upon which Hezbollah was proscribed.

The TBI claims that indoctrination represents more than 50 per cent of the IRGC’s overall training efforts. The aim is to create more radical and committed generations — both members and their families — through indoctrination into what is, in essence, a militaristic and increasingly apocalyptic cult; this strategy appears to be paying dividends, the institute says.

“The IRGC fits all the criteria for proscription by the UK government under the Terrorism Act 2000,” said the author of the paper, TBI’s Iran Programme lead Kasra Aarabi.

“The IRGC is a violent, Islamist-extremist organisation that operates no differently to proscribed groups in the United Kingdom, including ISIS, Al Qaeda and Hezbollah.

“Formally banning or proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation will send a clear message to the clerical regime in Iran that the terrorism and militancy pursued through the Guard, including on UK soil, will not be tolerated.

“The move will also provide the UK government, civil-society groups and technology companies with a clear mandate to more effectively protect against home-grown IRGC and Shia-Islamist extremism and radicalisation through outright bans on activities linked to the Guard in the UK.”

Iran's plots against foreign officials and dissidents — in pictures

The report from the TBI comes a day after Britain's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the UK would consider further steps against Iran after the execution of a British-Iranian dual citizen.

Ali Reza Akbari, a former Tehran defence official, was executed after being accused of spying for MI6.

However, Mr Cleverly stopped short of announcing that the IRGC would be designated a terrorist group amid pressure from MPs for such a move.

Mr Cleverly said he had held talks with Britain's ambassador in Tehran after the execution of Mr Akbari in Iran. Britain announced sanctions against Iran's prosecutor general at the weekend.

On Monday it was revealed that Tehran has refused to release the body of Mr Akbari.

Andy Slaughter, the Labour MP for Hammersmith, told the Commons that Mr Akbari was his constituent, and that he had been told by his family that the Iranian regime had refused to release and threatened to destroy his body.

The family has also been told the burial took place last week, Mr Slaughter said.

Mr Cleverly said the issues raised by Mr Slaughter “fill us all with revulsion” and said the government would continue to support the family.

The killing was “shameful” and Mr Akbari “fell victim to the political vendettas of a vicious regime”, Mr Cleverly said.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Six large-scale objects on show
  • Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
  • The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
  • A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
  • A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
  • Torrijos Palace dome
Racecard

6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m

8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m

8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m

The National selections

6.30pm: Chaddad

7.05pm: Down On Da Bayou

7.40pm: Mass Media

8.15pm: Rafal

8.50pm: Yulong Warrior

9.25pm: Chiefdom

England Test squad

Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts

 
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
​​​​​​​Scribe

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
  • Riders must be 14-years-old or over
  • Wear a protective helmet
  • Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
  • Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
  • Do not drive outside designated lanes
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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While you're here
The currency conundrum

Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”

Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.

This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
RESULT

Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal:
Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87') 

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet

Price, base: Dh429,090

Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission Seven-speed automatic

Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km

The specs

Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm

Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto

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On sale: now

MATCH INFO

Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')

Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')

Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)

TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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Updated: January 17, 2023, 12:01 AM`