CFI Parliamentary Chairman (Lords) Rt. Hon. The Lord Pickles has called on the Government to follow the lead of the US in proscribing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
Speaking in House of Lords on Tuesday, Lord Pickles said that banning the group “would send a clear signal to Iran that the normalisation of relations cannot be conducted through a terrorist organisation”.
Lord Pickles spoke following a statement from Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on the situation in the Middle East.
He said that Lord Ahmad “has rightly identified the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a source of instability in the region and that it has consorted with a terrorist organisation both in the region and in Europe”.
In response, Lord Ahmad said: “We condemn all acts of terrorism, wherever perpetrated and whoever the perpetrator”.
He added: “On my noble friend’s specific question about proscribing this organisation, I have already said what our view of the organisation is. If it meets the requirements of the criteria for proscribing an organisation, I am sure it will be looked at at the appropriate time”.
The IRGC is currently designated a terrorist organisation by the governments of the US, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
