Iran Focus
London, 8 Jan – British politicians are calling on Home Secretary Amber Rudd to put Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on the terrorist watch list following its suppression of the ongoing people’s protest and support for terrorist groups.
Dozens of MPs from almost all parties in the House of Commons have backed this motion, which would impose sanctions on IRGC members. It calls on the Government “to include the IRGC on the list of proscribed organisations, impose punitive measures against its officials and to work with allies to expel the IRGC from Syria, Iraq and the Middle East”.
This comes after it was revealed that the IRGC was dispatched to put down the anti-regime protests.
Of the 69 MPs who have backed the Early Day Motion, more than 30 are Labour backbenchers – including David Lammy, Joan Ryan, and Frank Field- which might embarrass Jeremy Corbyn, who has been criticised for failing to personally condemn the actions of the Regime.
The motion states: “[The] IRGC only answers to the Supreme Leader and is responsible for suppression of Iranian people including the 2009 uprising, crackdown on human rights defenders, activists, journalists and anti-death penalty campaigners as well as arbitrary arrests of dual citizens.”
It has been signed by Conservative, Labour, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrat and Democratic Unionist Party MPs.
Sixteen Tories have signed the motion, including Nigel Evans, the former deputy speaker, Fiona Bruce, a member of the parliamentary human rights committee, and Sir Peter Bottomley, who was a minister under Margaret Thatcher.
Most of the MPs who have already signed the motion, did so in October and November in response to the IRGC’s reaction to smaller protests. It is expected that given the widespread protests over Parliament’s Christmas break, many more will soon sign.
Bob Blackman, a Conservative backbencher, who tabled the motion in October, described the protesters as “brave” and warned that the IRGC is not only keeping the brutal Iranian Regime in power but was also involved in “slaughtering the people of Syria” to keep Bashar al-Assad in power.
At least 21 people have been killed and 1,000 people have been arrested in the demonstrations so far. The Regime has threatened the death penalty for those arrested and stated that anyone arrested after the first two days of protests will receive harsher punishments.
Many students- in particular those at the University of Tehran- have been arrested as part of a pre-emptive strike to prevent them organising any future protests.
