Calls to Designate IRGC as Terrorist Organization Grow in the UK

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

42% : In response to Akbari's execution, the UK imposed a travel ban on and froze the assets of Iranian prosecutor general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, whom the British Foreign Office described as "one of the most powerful figures in Iran's judicial system."
41% : Six days later, the European Parliament voted in favor of recommending the IRGC be designated a terrorist organization by the European Union.
40% : Calls to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization grew in the United Kingdom this week after Iran executed a prominent dual British-Iranian citizen on Saturday morning.
38% : The UK summoned Iran's chargé d'affaires, and Iran's foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador to Iran, Stephen Shercliff, to complain about what the Islamic Republic sees as interference in their affairs.
37% : Concerns Over Diplomatic RelationsThe UK had been considering designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization prior to Akbari's execution but was concerned that the designation would close the door on the stalled nuclear talks with Iran and lead to retaliation.
34% : Expert Analysis"British intelligence confirms that Iran threatened to kidnap or kill British citizens and residents on UK soil.
32% : According to Iranian news sources, Iran hanged former deputy defense minister, Alireza Akbari, 61, after accusing him of spying for the UK's MI6 -- the British equivalent to the CIA.
31% : In his annual update in November, Ken McCallum, head of UK's domestic security agency MI5, said that there have been at least 10 potential threats by Iran to kidnap or kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as being enemies of the regime.
31% : Related Analysis"UK Preparing to Designate IRGC as a Terrorist Organization," FDD Flash Brief"Iran Caught Again Trying to Kill Israeli Civilians Abroad," FDD Flash Brief"Iran's Long, Bloody History of Terror and Espionage in Europe," by Toby Dershowitz and Benjamin Weinthal

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.