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British defence chiefs have ruled that any person who works for – or is a proxy of – the Iranian state will have to register their presence in the UK or face arrest.
The British government announced it was subjecting Tehran to an elevated tier of scrutiny in light of what it described as increasingly aggressive activity.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said he would place Iran’s state, the Islamic Republic’s security services, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps into the enhanced tier of an upcoming registration scheme designed to protect against covert foreign influence.
The ruling means that any members of the Iranian state, or anyone acting on behalf of the state, carrying out “political influence activities” in the UK must register with the scheme.
Failure to register is a criminal offence and can result in up to five years in prison.
Iran is the first foreign power to be placed in the enhanced tier of the scheme, which has two levels aimed at strengthening the resilience of the UK’s political system against covert foreign influence.
The first level is a “political influence” tier, involving communications with senior decision-makers such as UK ministers, MPs, and senior civil servants.
“The Iranian regime is targeting dissidents, media organisations, and journalists reporting on the violent oppression of the regime,” Jarvis told Parliament.
In November, the head of Britain’s domestic spy agency, MI5, said that since January 2022, his service and British police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots to kidnap or kill British nationals or individuals based in the United Kingdom whom Tehran regarded as a threat.
The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), expected to launch in the summer, will require “the registration of arrangements to carry out political influence activities in the UK at the direction of a foreign power,” according to a government briefing document.
The “enhanced” tier of scrutiny allows a senior minister to require certain countries and organisations to register a broader range of activities to protect Britain’s interests.
Failure to register when required to do so would be a criminal offence. However, the government stated that the scheme does not prevent properly registered activities from taking place.
“(Iran) has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance its objectives and undermine ours. This is evidenced by the fact that direct action against UK targets has substantially increased over recent years,” Jarvis said.
“It is clear that these plots are a conscious strategy of the Iranian regime to stifle criticism through intimidation and fear. These threats are unacceptable. They must and will be defended against at every turn.”
The Iranian embassy in London did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
In 2023, an Austrian national was convicted of carrying out “hostile reconnaissance” against the London headquarters of Iran International, a news organisation critical of Iran’s government.
The following March, a British journalist of Iranian origin who worked for Iran International sustained leg injuries in an attack near his home in London.
Counter-terrorism police led that investigation over concerns that he had been targeted because of his work at the television news network.
Any person working for Iran in the UK must register.
