IRGC Threatens Retaliation If US Seizes Iranian Vessels

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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.”

The calamity has resulted in the tragic loss of five lives, including two police officers who were overseeing the legal demolition of a structure.

The incident unfolded as five buildings, each in various stages of construction, crumbled to the ground in southern Tehran, leaving a trail of destruction. At least three individuals lost their lives, and over 10 others sustained injuries, further highlighting the severity of the catastrophe.

Tehran's Firefighting Organization revealed on Sunday that among those affected were four police officers and two municipality employees. Additionally, several individuals were trapped beneath the debris, prompting a race against time to effect their rescue.

Tragically, three lifeless bodies, including those of Major Hossein Esmaili and Colonel Yazdan Soleimanabadi, have been recovered from the wreckage. Efforts to identify the third victim, an elderly man, are ongoing as rescue operations persist at the site. Regrettably, the fate of at least two individuals remains uncertain, as rescue teams continue their painstaking efforts.

This harrowing event has cast a harsh light on the concerning prevalence of high-risk buildings within Tehran. While officials have refrained from publicizing a comprehensive list to avoid causing undue alarm, last year's disclosure of 129 unsafe structures by Ensaf News and the subsequent report by the IRNA state news agency in June, stating a staggering count of "33,000 unsafe buildings" in Tehran, underscore the gravity of the situation.

The arrest has prompted the United States to suspend the implementation of a planned prisoner swap deal with Tehran, as reported by Iran's state-run Khorasan newspaper.

The woman's identity has not been disclosed, with sources citing the need to protect ongoing negotiations over her release. This latest arrest follows the detention of a fourth US national in Iran, as previously reported by Semafor news website. The inclusion of this new case has now become a pivotal element in the escalated negotiations between the two nations.

Efforts to secure the release of American citizens held in Iran have been ongoing, with previous detainees including Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharqi, and Morad Tahbaz. The Biden administration has pursued the return of these individuals who have been held on alleged espionage charges that have been widely criticized as lacking credible evidence.

Iran seeks the release of its citizens convicted of crimes in Western countries, while the United States seeks the return of its nationals detained in Iran and access to frozen funds totaling billions of dollars held in overseas banks.

Tensions have escalated further due to Iran's recent arrest of the fourth and now fifth US citizens, disrupting the progress toward a potential agreement. Sources close to the situation indicate that the fourth American detainee was intended to be part of the exchange deal, potentially prompting Iran to adjust its demands.

While Iran maintains that its policy does not involve hostage-taking, human rights organizations have raised concerns about the country's track record of detaining dual nationals and foreigners on questionable grounds. Official figures of Iran's diplomatic hostages are unknown, but it is believed it spans a vast array of countries globally. 

The Jomhouri Eslami newspaper, a conservative daily critical of Raisi's economic and foreign policies throughout the past two years, stated that halfway through his presidency, Raisi can no longer blame the previous government for his failures. The daily also reminded that unlike his predecessors, Raisi enjoyed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's wholehearted support and had likeminded conservatives dominating the other branches of the government supporting him. 

The daily went on to say that despite what Raisi thought during his first days in office, by now he must know that no one can run the affairs of the state without a balanced foreign policy. He should also realize that Iran's membership at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and his government's ties with China, Russia, and some Latin American and African states have not helped the people and could be even harmful to the economy.

An 83-percent increase in printing money, a 95-percent rise in the rate of exchange for the US dollar and a 114-percent price increases for essential goods also show that Raisi and his colleagues have no true understanding of the country's situation and the impact of foreign policy on worsening conditions, the daily added. 

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The issue of the regime’s anti-West foreign policy and its failure to resolve the nuclear dispute with the United States have become key issues in recent months as US sanctions cripple the economy.

Centrist daily Ham Mihan published analysis by several experts about Raisi's dismal record. The daily wrote that he has badly failed in controlling inflation and meeting his promises to create one million jobs and build one million homes every year. 

Ham-Mihan noted that Raisi had to reshuffle his economic team several times during the past two years to no avail, and the performance of his economic team cannot be defended. As an example, Ham-Mihan noted that the US dollar has nearly redoubled during the past two years against the rial, which has fallen from 250,000 per dollar to nearly 500,000. 

The experts told Ham-Mihan that Raisi has failed to facilitate growth for businesses. The experts also criticized the Raisi administration for not having any economic plans, and for making bureaucracy more complicated than it used to be. Even projects such as selling government assets have not met their objectives, because instead of leading to productivity they simply maximized the profits of insider groups. 

The experts charged that there is no prospect for any improvement in the economy, which the government is simply unable to manage. They attributed that to "The President's inefficiency, the conflicts of interests between various groups of his supporters and more conflicts among various parts of the government." 

Meanwhile, in a report on the state of the economy halfway through Raisi's presidency, economic daily Donya-ye Eghtesad wrote that Raisi should re-consider and review all of his policies for the second half of his presidency. "The inflation rate, lack of economic growth, the high risks involved in doing business in Iran, and low investment rates are among the problems that need to be tackled," the daily wrote. 

While the inflation rate was 14.7 percent in the first year and 12.7 percent in the second year of President Hassan Rouhani's presidency, the Raisi administration has been struggling with a 49.1% inflation rate in its first year and a 39.4% inflation rate in its second year, the paper said, citing official figures considered by experts to be too low.

Norway-based human rights group, Hengaw, reported that Mohammadi, a resident of Salmas city in the western Azarbaijan province, initiated her hunger strike within the women's ward of Urmia Central Prison on Saturday. Mohammadi's protest aims to draw attention to her situation and the conditions faced by herself and fellow inmates.

Despite serving three years of her five-year sentence, Mohammadi has been denied the right to parole and leave. An informed source quoted by Hengaw disclosed that even her request for a meeting with the prosecutor has been obstructed by the prison authorities.

This is not the first time Mohammadi has resorted to drastic measures. Earlier this year, she was reported to have attempted suicide due to the pressures exerted by government security institutions, which hindered her chances of being granted leave.

Mohammadi's arrest dates back to the autumn of 2020 when she was apprehended by intelligence forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Salmas. Following several months of interrogation, she was transferred to the women's ward of Urmia Central Prison. She was subsequently sentenced to a five-year imprisonment term on charges of "membership in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK)" by the Revolutionary Court of Urmia.

Mohammadi's case highlights the mounting pressure on Kurdish civil groups and activists, particularly in the wake of the recent "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests. These demonstrations have drawn increased attention to the plight of Kurdish individuals and groups advocating for their rights and freedoms within Iran.