Anybody who works for – or is a proxy of – the Iranian state will have to register their presence in the UK or face jail time. Security minister Dan Jarvis said Iran, including its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence services, is being placed on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS).
That means any members of the Iranian state, or anybody acting on behalf of the state, carrying out “political influence activities” in the UK will have to register themselves.Failure to register is a criminal offence and can mean five years in jail.Mr Jarvis said the scheme will be up and running by the summer.
He said the Iranian state has been targeting Jewish and Israeli people in the UK, as well as UK-based Persian-language media critical of Iran.The minister said Iran is trying to “stifle criticism through intimidation and fear”.In October, the head of MI5 revealed the security service had foiled 20 Iran-backed plots in the UK since the beginning of 2022.
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