UK Gov't Divided On Whether To Proscribe Iran's Guards
Britain says there is a split within the UK government over whether to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guard despite the regime’s “significant threat” to the UK.
Britain says there is a split within the UK government over whether to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guard despite the regime’s “significant threat” to the UK.
The office of the British Prime Minister reiterated Monday that the Islamic Republic regime poses a “significant threat” to the country with “direct threats” to dissidents living in the UK.
The statement by the 10 Downing Street came a day after reports emerged of Home Secretary Suella Braverman labeling the IRGC as “the single biggest threat” to Britain’s national security amid fresh evidence of its reach.
As pressure is growing on the British government to proscribe the IRGC, The Sunday Times quoted a source close to the home secretary as saying that “The Iranian threat is the one that worries us the most,” adding that Braverman fears that the outfit is stepping up its activities, attempting to recruit members of organized crime gangs to target opponents of the regime.
In November 2022, Iran International was warned by authorities that its journalists were under threat from Iranian agents and after initial security measures around its headquarters in London, the television network temporarily relocated its broadcasts to Washington DC. Later, one suspect was arrested and is facing trial.
British media quoted the Prime Minister's spokesman Max Blain as saying that London had already taken “strong action” against Tehran, but the government is divided whether the IRGC should be banned as a terrorist group, with the Foreign Office reportedly reluctant to back the move over fears it would cause lasting diplomatic damage. Last month, the British government again rejected calls to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist group in favor of expanding the criteria by which its supporters and affiliated companies can be put under sanctions.
Asked if Braverman was echoing the government's view, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said, “Certainly we think that the behavior of the Iranian regime, including the actions of the IRGC, pose a significant threat to the safety and security of the UK and of our allies.”
Refraining from clarifying the opposing views about the designation of the IRGC, the spokesperson said, “I can’t get into speculation around who we may or may not be considering proscribing in the future.” But he said the government had “a range of tools at our disposal” and would make decisions based on using the most effective measures “to curb Iran’s destabilizing activity”.
The issue of nuclear proliferation and “direct threats against dissidents in the UK” were particularly concerning, the spokesman emphasized, highlighting the high number of threats to kill or kidnap British citizens or people based in the UK in just over a year.
“We’ve identified 15 credible threats by the Iranian regime to kill or kidnap British or UK-based individuals since 2022,” he said.
Referring to the measures taken by London, he said that “we have rightly taken strong action, including sanctions, and we’ve announced new powers to give the UK a greater ability to target Iran’s key decision makers.” “We have sanctions on 350 Iranian individuals and entities,” he underlined.
Earlier in the day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani reacted to the statement attributed to UK Home Secretary Braverman, the UK is in no place to make such “baseless” claims.
“The UK is not in a position to make accusations against the IRGC with its dark history in West Asia, which has caused deep instability in the region, as well as its role in covert and overt support of terrorism,” Kanaani said during his weekly press briefing in Tehran on Monday, claiming that “The IRGC has provided many services not only to the regional countries but also to the European states.”
The remarks by Downing Street and Braverman came just after Iran's IRGC commanders were revealed to be spreading extremist antisemitic propaganda in UK universities via a London student organization. The Sunday Times disclosed details of the close relationship between the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Students Association set up to promote religious and political views of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder and first Supreme Leader of the regime who ruled until his death in 1989.
According to an investigation by the Jewish Chronicle, since early 2020, at least eight IRGC leaders addressed British student audiences during events hosted by the center, trying to radicalize them.
In the wake of the new revelations, Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, led calls to proscribe the IRGC to outlaw its propaganda activities. “The case for strong preventive action seems clear-cut,” he said.
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said, “The invitation of IRGC commanders and other speakers who glorify its actions to speak to British students is incredibly concerning. Robust action is needed now.”
Tory MP Alicia Kearns, the chair of the Foreign Affairs committee, condemned the organization's activities, stating, “In organizing such despicable talks, the Islamic Students Association of Britain acts at best as a willing propaganda arm of the Iranian regime, and at worst as an agitator for state sponsored terrorism.”
Amir-Abdollahian, the first Iranian foreign minister to visit Japan since Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took office in August 2021, met with his counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Health, Labour and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Katō on Monday.
The readout from his meetings did not mention any talks about Iran’s funds mainly from exports of oil frozen due to US sanctions, but Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said earlier in the day that following up the issue was on the minister’s agenda during his trip.
Amir-Abdollahian most likely raised the issue of the funds, as Tehran is also pressuring South Korea to release $7 billion frozen by two Seoul banks. Iran has tens of billions of dollars worth of funds in foreign banks that it cannot access because of US sanctions. The funds are mostly kept in banks in South Korea, Iraq, China, Japan and India where Iran is owed for shipments of crude and other oil products that took place before the United States pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal and re-imposed full energy sanctions on Tehran in 2018 and 2019.
Kanani emphasized Monday that “We will continue to follow up on the issue of unfreezing Iranian funds held in various countries, as we did before,” adding that the issue has been raised at different levels, such as during a meeting on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last year when Raisi and Kishida discussed the matter. He went on to say that the Japanese government has repeatedly announced its readiness to repatriate the frozen assets and is making efforts to make this happen.
A lot of recent reports and statements point to an interim deal with the possible release of regime funds in exchange for several US citizens held hostage in Iran and a freeze in Iran's nuclear program. Both the nuclear talks and the prisoner release talks have not succeeded in making meaningful progress. However, US officials say that efforts to secure the release of four Americans continue.
Japan – which holds this year's presidency of the Group of Seven nations – may seek to reduce Iran’s tension with the West to facilitate its dealings with Tehran; the most pressing issue is perhaps Tehran’s military support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, deemed a threat to Europe.
According to the readout of Amir-Abdollahian's meeting with his Japanese counterpart, apart from the usual calls for bolstering bilateral relations “in fields such as medical, environment and disaster risk reduction,” the most important issue discussed was Iran’s supply of drones and missiles for the Russian war on Ukraine.
As was reported before the visit, Japan urged Iran not to provide Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Hayashi calling on Tehran “to respond in a constructive manner.” The two agreed to continue "close communication" over issues affecting the Middle East, Japan's Foreign Ministry said. It also said the ministers exchanged “frank views” on the latest developments surrounding Iran’s nuclear issue.
The Japanese diplomat stated that Tokyo has consistently supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and is “seriously concerned about the expansion of Iran’s nuclear activities,” calling on Iran to take constructive measures including the full and unconditional cooperation under the latest joint statement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Between 2006 and 2015, Tokyo fully supported the four UN sanctions resolutions designed to prevent the regime from developing nuclear weapons. Japan also complied with US sanctions reimposed by the Trump administration in 2018, which sought to eliminate all Iran’s oil exports.
Amir-Abdollahian explained that Iran is pursuing the restoration of the JCPOA through negotiations, and expressed his appreciation for Japan’s diplomatic efforts, noting that Iran seeks to continue close communication with Japan on the matter.
Later in the day, Amir-Abdollahian held a press conference in the Japanese capital, where he used it as an opportunity to further deny the extent of Iran’s involvement in the Russian invasion, calling claims “completely wrong and incorrect,” and instead blaming the conflict on the US-led NATO military alliance and its provocations, in spite of troves of evidence to the contrary.
“We consider NATO and its provocations among the root causes of the war and crisis. We continue our efforts to stop the war and make the parties focus on a political solution,” he said, claiming that “We have provided no parties [to the war] with drones for use in Ukraine.”
His remarks came just a day after Russia used 27 Iranian-made drones and 30 missiles to attack large swaths of Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said all 27 Shahed 136 and 131 drones were shot down by air defenses but some of the missiles fired from the Black Sea and the Caspian region got through.
The German television outlet ARD on Sunday aired a blockbuster report titled “Iran: Persecution with modern surveillance technology,” citing a document obtained by the outlet in Persian showing that at “Khatam University in Tehran in 2017, an instruction course was organized by Bosch security and an Iranian distribution partner.” The topics of the instruction course were “facial recognition, face detection, and intelligent tracking from objects.”
The instruction teacher was allegedly a distribution director for the Bosch’s Middle East division. ARD did not name the director. Iran International sent press queries to Bosch, including the spokesperson responsible for the Middle East.
Bosch told ARD it delivered 8,000 cameras to Iran’s regime between 2016-2018. Bosch disputed that its cameras can be used for full facial recognition and denied that a Bosch employee participated in the instruction course. According to Amnesty International, the regime is expanding its” mass surveillance” targeting street traffic, with a focus on women to ensure they are wearing their compulsory hijab.
Iranian dissidents, whose images were altered to protect their identities, told ARD they seek to sabotage the cameras on the streets to prevent the persecution of protesters. ARD showed images of Bosch cameras and software used to monitor streets and highways.
An Iranian activist told ARD when a camera captures more than5 or 10 people at a protest an alarm signal is sent to the police and “within minutes” security forces are present.
In April, Iran International reported that Ahmad-Reza Radan, the chief commander of the Iran’s police, said that his security apparatus will use advanced technology and equipment to identify women who violate the law requiring females to wear the mandatory hijab in public places. He said women and girls who do not cover their hair in “public places, cars, or commercial centers,” will be prosecuted.
The ARD concluded its report with the narrator stating “When women in Iran face a trial in the future it could take place with help of technology from Made in Germany.”
It is not clear if Bosch has had any dealings with Iran since the United States re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic in 2018, but Tehran is adept at finding intermediary's to do business with Western companies.
The Iranian-American human rights activist, Lawdan Bazargan, told Iran International “Regrettably, Germany has a long-standing history of supporting the Islamic Regime of Iran (IRI) at the expense of the Iranian people, human rights, and democratic values. The 1980s, known as the Bloody Decade among Iranians, witnessed Germany maintaining close ties with Iran while remaining silent after the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. “
She said “Taking into account Germany's past experiences and the potential consequences of aiding the IRI in oppressing its people, it appears that Germany's assistance to the IRI is indeed deliberate.”
Bazargan, who runs the NGO Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA), added, “In the mid-2000s Nokia Siemens Network (NSN) went a step further, selling an electronic monitoring and surveillance center to Iran's state-owned telephone company, bolstering this oppressive regime. The system allowed the Iranian government to easily spy on and intercept communications of dissidents heavily reliant on web-based platforms to connect with the outside world. Tragically, the IRI exploited this technology to apprehend protesters during the 2009 Green Movement, subjecting them to horrifying torture and unjust imprisonment based on their chats and text messages.”
Jason Brodsky, policy director for the US-based United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Iran International that the ADR report “is deeply disturbing. It demonstrates the long standing ties between the German business community and the Islamic Republic. And underscores the need for enhanced due diligence of German companies world-wide. Iranian drones are being found with western components.
Brodsky continued “And if Bosch is, wittingly or unwittingly, involved in facial recognition and surveillance technology, then this calls for a robust investigation by Bosch and the German authorities as to what has been done here. Bosch has been a partner in the past with the Islamic Republic.” He added the “German government like to say it is committed to upholding human rights, but German businesses are involved in Iranian markets. The German government has to speak with one voice with the business community. “
Brodsky said that “Bosch was part of a German business delegation visiting Iran in 2016 after the JCPOA. The German government has to be cognizant of it that Iran extracts western technology to advance its repression apparatus at home.”
The JCPOA is an abbreviation for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—the formal name of the Iran nuclear deal reached in 2015.
The Bosch corporation played a key industrial role in advancing the war aims of Nazi Germany. Bosch used an estimated 20,000 slaves, which included 1,200 concentration camp inmates, as part of its efforts to help Hitler win the war.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the LA-based Simon Wiesenthal Center (named after the legendary Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal), told Iran International that “Facial recognition is weaponized by the Iranian regime against women and girls and facial recognition is being facilitated by one of Germany’s legacy companies. Shame on them. And shame on the German government for not putting an end to it. The German government can put an end to it in one second by barring export licenses. “
Cooper asked “Where are the voices of the political parties and NGOs who speak up, first and foremost, for the rights of women?” He warned that the Bosch technology will damage the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement.” He added "How many more people will end up in prison tortured and raped by virtue of this technology?”
Cooper noted the implications of Bosch having “not learned or forgotten” the lessons from the Holocaust due to the principle of “export über alles.” The prominent Rabbi said that by “putting on willful blinders so that businesses can maximize profits will come at a pernicious price with dealing with a murderous Iranian regime that threatens all of us.”
Iran International sent press queries to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, and to Sebastian Fischer, the spokesman for German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock.
Baerbock claims to have a “feminist foreign policy” but is facing criticism for allegedly allowing Iran’s“hanging judge” Hossein-Ali Nayerit o enter Germany for medical care.
Gazelle Sharmahd, the daughter of German businessman Jamshid Sharmahd, who was sentenced to death in Iran in February, has told the German media that Scholz and Baerbock are not doing enough to secure her father’s freedom.
Bazargan said “Instead of bolstering the IRI, Germany should take a firm stance and sever all ties with Iran, demanding the immediate release of Jamshid Sharmahd, the German citizen held hostage by the Islamic Regime. By doing so, Germany can demonstrate its commitment to human rights and support the aspirations of Iranians striving for freedom and justice.”
According to statistics from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, Germany exported more than $1.2 billion in merchandise to Iran from January to October 2022.
Traditionally, Germany has been viewed as the weakest Western link in the effort to improve human rights in Iran and end the theocratic state’s reported nuclear weapons program. Iran International reported last week about the controversial twin city partnership between the German city of Freiburg and Esfahan.