‘My dad wouldn’t have been kidnapped if the IRGC were proscribed as terrorists sooner’

A woman whose dad was held hostage by the IRGC for five years has said if the government had proscribed the group years ago it would have saved ‘countless lives’.

Elika Ashoori’s dad Anoosheh, a British-Iranian civil engineer, was suddenly detained after travelling to visit his mum in August 2017.

He was freed in March 2022 after five years in the notorious Evin jail alongside Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after a five-year fight.

But it was only yesterday the government confirmed they were proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), despite there being years of ‘threats to life and intimidation on UK soil’.

Elika told Metro: ‘As we battled for my dad’s release, we realised that the IRGC was at the core of everything that has happened to British citizens by the Iranian state.

‘The government has buried its head in the sand for years. By not proscribing them, we were partaking.’

Just two weeks ago, two men were jailed for stabbing a journalist outside of his home in Wimbledon. George Stana and Nandito Bandea were found to have attacked Pouria Zeraati in a proxy operation linked to the Iranian state.

Pouria works for Iran International, which is critical of the Iranian government.

The IRGC ‘almost certainly’ directed a linked group, The Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, to carry out a spate of anti-semitic attacks.

This includes the torching of volunteer ambulances and setting fires at synagogues.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: ‘We will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets.

‘Anyone acting on behalf of those who threaten our national security should be in no doubt that there is no place for you in Britain.’

But Elika said the words are coming ‘too late’ for many people whose lives have been decimated by the regime.

She said: ‘The IRGC is a bank and a training centre for radicalism across the world. I am not surprised at the level of anti-semitic attacks in London, particularly Golders Green.

‘But we should have put things to stop them, such as proscription, in motion way before this. Maybe all of this, including my dad being kidnapped, would not have happened if they were proscribed years ago.’

Under new state threat powers, anyone supporting or assisting the groups will face a maximum punishment of 14 years in prison, but ministers will need parliamentary approval first.

The Government has already announced that more than £250 million is to be invested into increasing policing in Jewish communities.

The increased funding will see a surge in police presence, patrols, and protecting security outside synagogues and schools, as well as specialist plain-clothes officers in Jewish communities.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: ‘Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores.

‘I have rapidly designated three groups so those working for them will be tracked down and put behind bars.

‘I will leave no stone unturned to keep our country safe.’

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