Urgent action is needed from ministers to officially ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the global head of Crime Stoppers, who warned of the potential for increased anti-Semitic incidents if this step is not taken promptly.

The IRGC, a formidable branch of Iran’s military, has already been labeled a terrorist organization by countries including the United States, Canada, and Australia, as well as by the European Union.

UK counter-terrorism forces have uncovered over 20 credible threats originating from Iran since 2022, involving plots to either kill or abduct individuals in the UK. Some of these threats have been linked to the IRGC’s external operations division, known as the Quds Force.

Hayley van Loon, the CEO of Crime Stoppers International, highlighted the recent attack on four Jewish ambulances in Golders Green as a clear indication of the pressing need for intervention.

A clandestine group, identified as The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, has claimed responsibility for this incident. Although their connection to the IRGC has been suggested, independent verification is yet to be established.

Ms. Van Loon expressed concern that similar attacks might occur in the UK unless decisive measures are taken to ban the IRGC.

‘The UK should follow the US, Canada and Australia in listing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation,’ she told the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview. 

Crimestoppers International is the umbrella group for Crimestoppers charities across more than 30 countries, including the UK. The group receives anonymous tips from members of the public which it then passes on to law enforcement.

Three of the community ambulances were left in pieces and burned out after fires triggered explosions inside the vehicles

Ms Van Loon said the IRGC was increasingly using organised crime groups, including those involved in the illicit tobacco trade, to recruit people to carry out attacks.

‘We are seeing stronger links between state actors and the illicit trades across the globe,’ she explained.

‘Most interestingly, given the current global situation, are the links of the IRGC to the illicit tobacco trade.

‘We are now seeing an increase in state-sponsored support for organised crime gangs running illicit tobacco networks for various reasons, some of which involve using them as political pawns to carry out acts on their behalf.’

She pointed at the devastation caused by a series of fire bombings across Melbourne and Sydney in 2024 and 2025 that destroyed two synagogues and a rabbi’s car.

Spy chiefs linked some of the attacks to IRGC proxies involved in Australia’s illegal tobacco trade.

In January, alleged Iraqi tobacco kingpin Kazem Hamad, 41, was arrested in Iraq on an international arrest warrant from Australia.

He has been linked to the arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, which gutted much of the building in December 2024.

Ms van Loon said the intelligence picture suggested the attacks – and much of Melbourne’s illicit tobacco trade – were funded and directed by the IRGC.

The Crime Stoppers chief said the organisation used ‘pre-existing organised crime networks to raise funds and carry out attacks’.

‘It protects them in some ways, especially if they’re directing operations that they want for political gain or acts of terrorism,’ she said.

‘It gives them some kind of plausible deniability, but in this Australian example, they were able to follow a money trail between Iran and the people in Melbourne.’

Proscribing the IRGC would allow the UK to sanction organised crime groups it was linked to, Ms Van Loon insisted.

The IRGC was founded by acolytes of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini to defend the Islamic Republic of Iran’s core values. Pictured is one of its fighters in 2024  

‘We’re dealing with a converged crime environment where we actually need to cut off the financial flows that they’re all using, she said.

‘You can liken it to a tree with a trunk, branches and roots.

‘We keep lopping off branches and they just grow back. We need to collaborate and work smarter to target the root systems in order to combat this.’

The IRGC was founded by acolytes of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini to defend the Islamic Republic of Iran’s core values.

It led Tehran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters that reportedly killed more than 30,000 people.

In January, the Home Office confirmed it was preparing legislation allowing it to proscribe hostile state agencies including the IRGC, but said the bill would not be expedited.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the brutality of the Iranian regime is an ‘affront to humanity’ and has called for a rapid ban.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We take the threat posed by Iran incredibly seriously, and our first priority is protecting British interests and lives.

‘We have introduced a comprehensive set of additional measures aimed at countering threats posed by the Iranian regime, including sanctioning the IRGC in its entirety, as well as more than 550 Iranian individuals and entities.

‘While the government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under close review, we do not comment on whether a specific organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.

‘Current proscription powers are designed for non-state terror organisations, not state organisations. We will legislate to introduce a proscription-like power to address the threat of hostile activity posed by state and state-linked bodies.’