UK Says Iran-Backed Group Behind Attacks on Jewish Community, Bans Revolutionary Guard

The British government said Monday that a series of arson and vandalism attacks targeting Jewish sites across the U.K. were carried out by an Iran-backed proxy group.

The government announced it is banning the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (IMCR), also known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, along with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), citing threats to national security. Once Parliament approves the legislation, carrying out sabotage on behalf of either group could be punishable by life imprisonment.

Security Minister Angela Eagle said IMCR has claimed responsibility for seven attacks in the U.K., including arson at synagogues, Jewish charity ambulances, and a Persian-language media organization critical of Iran’s government. No injuries were reported in the incidents.

According to Eagle, members of the IRGC’s Quds Force were almost certainly directing IMCR’s operations across Europe. The group, which emerged online earlier this year, has also claimed responsibility for attacks on synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands.

British authorities and intelligence experts say Iran-backed proxy groups have increasingly targeted Jewish communities and Persian-language media outlets across Europe, often recruiting criminal networks to carry out sabotage and other attacks.