‘My dad would not have been kidnapped if the IRGC were proscribed as terrorists sooner’ | News World

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

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

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

Nevertheless it was only yesterday the federal 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 on the core of every part that has happened to British residents by the Iranian state.

‘The federal government has buried its head within 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 definitely’ directed a linked group, The Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, to perform a spate of anti-semitic attacks.

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

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

‘Anyone acting on behalf of those that threaten our national security ought to be in little question that there is no such thing as a place for you in Britain.’

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

She said: ‘The IRGC is a bank and a training centre for radicalism internationally. I’m not surprised at the extent of anti-semitic attacks in London, particularly Golders Green.

‘But we must always have put things to stop them, equivalent to proscription, in motion way before this. Perhaps all of this, including my dad being kidnapped, wouldn’t have happened in the event that they were proscribed years ago.’

Under recent 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 greater than £250 million is to be invested in increasing policing in Jewish communities.

The increased funding will see a surge in police presence, patrols, and protecting security outside synagogues and schools, in addition to 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 actually have rapidly designated three groups so those working for them will probably be tracked down and put behind bars.

‘I’ll leave no stone unturned to maintain our country secure.’

Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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