CAN WE NOW OUTLAW IRAN'S TERROR FORCE IN UK?

MOUNTING pressure is being put on Rishi Sunak to ban Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group.

- Sam Lister and Martyn Brown

Ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has blasted the failure to outlaw them so far as "absurd".

And he has joined other senior Conservatives calling on the PM to do so after Iran's missile and drone barrage over Israeli airspace, which the UK and other allies helped to thwart.

Influence

Sir Iain said: "The Government should have already proscribed IRGC. The USA have asked us to do it.

"The excuses the Government uses are, firstly, that if the UK proscribes the IRGC it will lose influence. That's absurd as we clearly have no influence." He urged Mr Sunak to "please, please" now consider banning the IRGC and to "do it in a way that will make sure they can no longer foment extremism here in the United Kingdom as well".

Sir Iain, below, added: "All roads lead back to Tehran when it comes to the terrible violence and wars that take place in the Middle East.

"And every country, not just Israel, other Arab countries fear what Tehran is doing in their countries as well.

"We know they are committing murder at home, they have executed thousands of protesters while this war has been taking place."

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a powerful force within Iran and also controls the "axis of resistance" against Israel across the region.

Proscribing the organisation means that it would join an 80-strong list of banned groups that includes Islamist extremists and far-right terrorists.

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that it was time to "put the UK's national security first" by banning the IRGC.