UK’s Security Minister Pledges Action Against Iran’s Threats

A diverse group of figures delivered speeches in the Belgian capital condemning the Islamic Republic and its multifunctional armed force, the IRGC, expressing solidarity with the dissidents in Iran who have been out on streets since September protesting for the fall of the clerical regime. 

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Alireza Akhondi and Darya Safai, two representatives of Iranian origin in the parliaments of Sweden and Belgium were among the original organizers of the rally, meant to push the EU for the inclusion of the IRGC in the list of terrorist organizations in the European Union. 

During the demonstration – accompanied by musical and theatrical performances, women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad called for unity among Iranian opposition figures, a demand which has been echoed repeatedly by prominent activists since a historic forum in Washington earlier this month by eight prominent dissident activists heralded a united front. 

Alinejad said, "The secret of our victory is our unity. We are scarred by the same regime for years... We will not win if we do not hold each other's hands."

Canada-based activist leader Hamed Esmaeilion, whose daughter and wife were killed by the IRGC in the shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner in 2020, said that the Revolutionary Guard was established to defend the Islamic Revolution and not the Iranian people. "There is still no mention of Iran in the name of this institution," he noted. "After the war with Iraq, the Revolutionary Guard became an economic and security monster, and today it is the most important instrument to suppress the people of Iran," he added. 

"In future Iran, there'll be no IRGC. Army will protect the country's territorial integrity. Military won't interfere in politics. And the economy will be controlled by experts instead of eulogists in uniform," he said. 

Former US President George W. Bush, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, member of the Chamber of Representatives of Belgium Theo Francken, Former Assistant to the US President for National Security Affairs John Bolton, Executive Director of United Nations Watch Hillel Neuer, Member of the European Parliament Abir Al-Sahlan, and member of the Hamburg city parliament Danial Ilkhanipour delivered speeches or sent messages for the Brussels rally. 

Concurrent with the gathering in the Belgian capital, another rally was held in the German city of Dusseldorf. 

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Also on Monday, the EU sanctioned 32 Islamic Republic officials, including culture and education ministers, deputy IRGC commander, and several MPs. The move can be seen as a measure to justify the fact that the EU is not yet ready to designate the entirety of the IRGC. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the EU would propose sanctions targeting for the first time Iranian economic operators involved in the Russian war in Ukraine. "For the first time we are also proposing to sanction Iranian entities including those linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard," she said.

In January, the block's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the European Union cannot list the IRGC as a terrorist entity until an EU court has determined that they are, noting "Ministers adopted a new package of sanctions against Iran, targeting those driving the repression. The EU strongly condemns the brutal and disproportionate use of force by the Iranian authorities against peaceful protesters," he said but no action was taken to designate the IRGC.

There have been numerous Iranian terror acts in Europe, where courts have indicted top officials. In addition, IRGC’s record in organizing attacks elsewhere are well-documented. Critics say that Borrell is focused on re-starting nuclear talks with Iran after the previous long round of negotiations in 2021-2022 ended last September without success.

The European Parliament has called on the EU to list the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist entity, blaming it for the repression of domestic protests and the supply of drones to Russia.

Moreover, EU legal experts have declared that the bloc does not currently have legal grounds to list Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday.

"As of now, we don't have legal grounds in the EU to list the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization," Baerbock told reporters at the end of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

The United States has said it is not pursuing the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, or the JCPOA, and instead its attention is on the popular movement in Iran and on Tehran’s supply of kamikaze drones to Russia.

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The IRGC was set up shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi’ite clerical ruling system and provide a counterweight to the regular armed forces.

It has an estimated 125,000-strong military with army, navy and air units. It also commands the Basij religious militia, a volunteer paramilitary force loyal to the clerical establishment which is often used to crack down on anti-government protests.

On Saturday, Iran International TV, a London-based television station, announced it was moving its live broadcasting studios to the United States following threats it faced in Britain.

"I am appalled by the Iranian regime’s continuing threats to the lives of UK-based journalists and have today summoned its representative to make clear this will not be tolerated," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.

The ministry said the Iranian Charge d’Affaires had been told in a meeting with British officials that Britain would not accept such threats to life and media freedom.

Threats linked to the Islamic Republic against the network’s journalists first surfaced in November, when the Metropolitan Police warned the management of direct dangers to some individuals.

Earlier, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes in London had confirmed that they will continue to work closely with intelligence partners and others to investigate potential threats projected from Iran against a number of UK-based individuals, support those affected and put in place measures to keep them safe, including protective security measures such as an overt armed policing presence focused around the west London offices of the Persian-language media company.

Separately, the government-imposed sanctions on three Iranian judges, three members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two regional governors over what it said were human rights violations.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said during his weekly briefing that the organizers of the 2023 Munich Security Conference promoted war instead of security by inviting prominent dissident figures instead of the regime officials, who were usually present at the prestigious event. 

Calling the move “a grave mistake” that “damaged the conference’s credibility,” he said they sought unilateralism in the international order by preventing the expression of different views. “We believe that this year, the conference was organized in the name of security, but for the sake of war and warmongers,” he added.

“The conference was held in the name of security, but it did not invite important countries such as the Islamic Republic [of Iran] and Russia. It means that the conference has given the opportunity, which could be used to raise different multilateral views regarding international order and security, to parties and currents that sought to consolidate unilateralism in the international arena.”

While the Iranian regime has become increasingly isolated, Kanaani claimed that “The Islamic Republic is one of the most important countries with an undisputed role in deepening and consolidating regional security, and it is among effective countries that helps reinforce international security.”

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Western countries have strongly rebuked Tehran for its bloody crackdown over protests, its military support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and lack of compromise over its highly disputed nuclear program.

As Kanaani was speaking to reporters in Tehran, a large number of Iranians gathered outside the European parliament in the Belgian capital Brussels to call on the European Union countries to designate the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

Thousands of Iranians from all over Europe held a massive rally in Strasbourg in January for the same purpose.

After a historic forum in Washington earlier this month by eight prominent dissident activists, they have been traveling to events around the world to make the voice of the Iranian opposition heard. Such events signal the emergence of a leadership council in the diaspora to campaign for international support in favor of Iran’s protest movement.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Kanaani said Tehran is committed to technical cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), noting that “The Islamic Republic’s technical cooperation with the IAEA is an important principle for our country. In turn, we expect the agency to behave professionally toward Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities and adhere to the principles and frameworks of professional and specialized cooperation with member states, including the Islamic Republic."

He was referring to a report on Sunday in which Bloomberg News quoted senior diplomats as saying that the UN watchdog, the IAEA had recently detected uranium enriched to 84 percent while monitoring Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran has been enriching uranium to up to 60 percent purity since April 2021. Three months ago, it started enriching to that level at a second site, Fordow, which is dug into a mountain. Weapons grade is around 90%.

“Raising such issues through the media, while they should normally be discussed in technical and specialized contacts and in bilateral meetings, shows that the agency is distancing from its professional behavior and specialized position,” Kanaani said.

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi has rejected the report, saying the country’s nuclear facilities have never enriched uranium above 60 percent.

Several neighborhoods of capital Tehran once again witnessed overnight anti-government slogans by protesters.

People in Jannat Abad west of Tehran chanted slogans like “Death to the Dictator” and “Freedom, Freedom, Freedom” from inside their houses and residential complexes.

Baqeri town in the west of the capital, which is home to many IRGC staff, was also the scene of anti-government slogans. "Death to Khamenei", "Death to the IRGC" were among the nightly slogans of the protesters in this town.

Protesters in Ekbatan, west of Tehran, also chanted "Death to the dictator" and "Death to Khamenei". This comes as security forces set up checkpoints at the entrances of Ekbatan Sunday evening.

Despite the extensive arrests of residents Ekbatan has been one of the main hubs of protests in the capital since the beginning of unrest against the Islamic Republic after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September.

In Narmak neighborhood in the east, people chanted "Death to the dictator", "Death to the child-killing regime" and "Death to Khamenei, damn Khomeini".

In the cities of Rasht in the north and Bandar Abbas in the south, the protesters also wrote slogans on the walls, and in Yasouj in the southwest, they set fire to regime placards, including a large banner showing the image of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a tweet Sunday night that during the conversation he has emphasized that “Iran relies upon its people and this was proven once again by the turnout on the anniversary of the Islamic Republic on February 11.

However, Josep Borrell said in a tweet that in his conversation with Amir-Abdollahian he once again underlined the EU's position on Iran's behavior.

He stated that he told the Iranian top diplomat that they must stop human rights violations, end support for Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, and stop unjustified detention of EU citizens.

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was contemplating a new package of sanctions against Moscow and its allies, including Tehran, over the Ukraine war.

Borrell also demanded that Iran fully cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. On Sunday, Bloomberg News quoted senior diplomats as saying that the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had recently detected uranium enriched to 84 percent while monitoring Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Earlier this month, Borrell warned that if Iran takes "a further step in its military assistance to Russia,” the nuclear agreement will be jeopardized.

However, he reiterated EU's commitment to continue efforts at ending the impasse in the nuclear negotiations despite friction between the Islamic Republic and the Western signatories of the deal.