US Supports Efforts in Europe to Designate IRGC as Terrorist

Historically, the army has referred to attacks coming from Iraq as originating "from the east."

The IDF also downed a "suspicious aerial target" that had crossed into Israeli airspace from Lebanon. The Iron Dome air defense system engaged the target shortly after alarms triggered in the northern town of Margaliot.

Earlier this month, a coalition of Iran-supported armed groups known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched several cruise missile strikes towards Israel, according to Reuters which claimed that the strikes involved multiple Arqub-type cruise missiles and notably targeted the city of Tel Aviv for the first time.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has also been responsible for numerous rocket and drone attacks on US forces stationed in Iraq and Syria. Such attacks have been ongoing in the months following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7.

The militias, heavily supported by Tehran both logistically and financially, continue to engage in operations that threaten regional stability, demonstrating Iran's broader regional ambitions and its strategy of projecting power through proxy groups.

"Israel sent messages through Egypt's foreign minister that it will compromise in the war in Gaza to avoid Iran's retaliation," Amirali Hajizadeh said.

However, the claims, made through Iran's state media, seem unlikely as Israel has continued to deepen its operation into Rafah, Hamas's last stronghold in south Gaza, in spite of warnings from the International Criminal Court, as the Jewish state continues with its war aims to eliminate Hamas and return the remaining 125 hostages being held in Gaza.

In April, Iran initiated its first direct assault on Israeli soil with over 350 drones and missiles, a response to what Iran claimed was an Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus, an incident resulting in the deaths of seven officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a senior commander. 

Although the majority of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel and a US-led coalition, Hajizadeh has claimed that Iran's strike nonetheless succeeded in "destroying" targeted Israeli military bases, while imagery from the Nevatim air base shows only limited damage. 

Last month, Hajizadeh asserted that the aerial assault on Israel was executed using limited military capabilities, saying, "We had to use a great number of missiles and drones to get through Israel's Iron Dome, we used 20% of our military capability in the operation".

The shooting took place near the Pakistan-Iran border, in Washuk District, confirmed Umar Jamali, additional deputy commissioner.

Naeem Umrani, deputy commissioner Washuk, said an investigation is being initiated to determine the reason for the shooting.

Former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Pakistan in April on a three-day official visit as the two Muslim neighbours seek to mend ties after unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes this year. Raisi's visit was seen as a key step towards normalising ties with Islamabad.

Iran and Pakistan have had a history of rocky relations, but missile strikes in January were the most serious incidents in years, with Pakistan recalling its ambassador to Tehran and not allowing his counterpart to return to Islamabad, as well as cancelling all high-level diplomatic and trade engagements.

Swift efforts to lower the temperature subsequently led to assurances that they respected each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as vows to expand security cooperation and requests for envoys to return to their posts.

Islamabad said it hit bases of the separatist Baloch Liberation Front and Baloch Liberation Army, while Tehran said it struck militants from the Jaish al-Adl (JAA) group.

The militant groups operate in an area that includes Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan and Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province. Both regions are restive, mineral-rich and largely underdeveloped.

(Report by Reuters)

It comes just days after yet another Iran-backed attack on protesters in London, standing against commemorations for the late president, Ebrahim Raisi, known as the ‘Butcher of Tehran’. The incident left one man with severe spinal injuries.

MPs and peers on the British Committee for Iran Freedom are pushing once again for the designation before the country goes to the polls as the issue becomes key policy for both the Conservative and Labour parties. So far, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has resisted calls to proscribe, even though its ally the US has led the way.

Instead, the country has issued multiple rounds of sanctions against entities and people connected with the IRGC, Iran’s military wing at home and abroad. This month, foreign secretary David Cameron said sanctions are currently enough, leaving the door open to diplomatic channels to deal with one of the world's biggest nuclear threats.

The latest initiative is led by Tory MP Bob Blackman, a long-time supporter of the National Council for Resistance of Iran (NCRI), who has worked with the NCRI and the umbrella group The British Committee for Iran Freedom, to compile the list of supporters and the accompanying statements.

Prominent MPs include Tory MPs Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Tobias Ellwood, Vicky Ford, Liam Fox, Sir John Hayes, Caroline Nokes, and Desmond Swayne, and Labour’s former shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

If the move does not pass this last round, change may be afoot if Labour wins the polls with shadow foreign secretary David Lamb suggesting that under his lead, there could be a change of policy with many of the peers behind the latest project from the Labour party.

In addition to Conservative Lord Bellingham, Labour signatories include Lord Boateng, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, Labour’s Lord Coaker, retired general Lord Dannatt, former attorney general Lord Goldsmith, Baroness Kennedy KC, former Labour leader Lord Kinnock, Lord Pannick KC, former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, and Labour’s Lord Whitty.

Slamming Cameron's approach, Blackman said: “We have tried the current policy of appeasement for 40 years, and it has only resulted in failure after failure, simply emboldening the regime in intensifying its nefarious conduct.

“It should be coupled with holding the regime accountable, including by designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity, a step long overdue. That would send a clear message to the ayatollahs that business as usual is over and would signal to the brave Iranians that the West has started to be on their side.”

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak named Iran as one of the states posing direct threats to Britain, alongside Russia, China and North Korea.

Last year, British security services MI5 admitted that Iran was among the country’s biggest state threats after a string of attempted assassinations had been revealed on UK soil.

Blackman said proscribing the group “would have a huge impact on the regime’s schemes to skirt sanctions and finance its repressive forces at home and proxy groups all over the region.”

As more details come to light of Iran’s backing of the likes of Hamas in Gaza, which invaded Israel on October 7, sparking the current war, there are growing calls to proscribe the IRGC which is essentially a self-ruling body under the command of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

The IRGC controls massive amounts of economic policy in Iran in order to redirect funds to military uses such as proxy activities with Iran’s militias such as the Houthis in Yemen, currently blockading the Red Sea in support of Hamas, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, also waging war on Israel’s northern front.

The IRGC has been linked to multiple high profile assassination attempts including a former Spanish MEP and vice president of the European Parliament.

If proscribed, they would be denied access to international funds and their links to Iranian government activities abroad would be severely curtailed.

Among those targeted by regime agents in the UK were members of the Iran International team. The Metropolitan Police admitted that threats had become so dangerous last year that they could no longer protect the offices in West London, forcing the team to temporarily relocate to the US while security measures were ramped up.

In March, Pouria Zeraati, the television host of the Last Word program on Iran International, was attacked by a group of what were believed to be Iran-backed agents in London.

The missile, described as the first Iranian anti-ship ballistic missile, is now in the hands of Yemeni fighters, enhancing their capability to target maritime vessels.

The revelation is significant as it confirms that Tehran has been arming its proxy forces in Yemen with advanced ballistic missiles.

This follows a pattern of Iran's military support to its allies in the region, further destabilizing the Middle East.

Tasnim's report also highlighted the history of the anti-ship ballistic missile's development, pointing out that Iran needs to be able to threaten US and other foreign navies in the broader Middle East.

In March, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps accused Iran of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine, highlighting Tehran's expanding role in global conflicts.

Since November, the Houthis have been using Iranian-supplied missiles and drones to attack commercial ships in the Red Sea, a critical global trade route. The attacks were initially a response to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza but have since severely disrupted maritime trade in the region.

The Houthi campaign in the Red Sea began after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Muslim nations to blockade Israeli trade.

Despite US and British military strikes on Houthi targets starting in January aimed at degrading their arsenal, the group’s attacks have continued.

The situation has been exacerbated by the expiration of UN Security Council restrictions on Iran's export of certain missiles, drones, and related technologies in October. However, the United States and European Union have maintained sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program, citing persistent concerns over the proliferation of Iranian weaponry to proxies in the Middle East and to Russia.

This ongoing transfer of advanced military technology to the Houthis underscores the Iranian regime's commitment to extending its influence and military capabilities through proxy warfare, posing a significant threat to regional and global stability.