The government’s former independent adviser on political violence and extremism has called for urgent Russia-style sanctions on Iran’s leadership and the IRGC, as experts warn that the UK is a haven for regime “blood money”.
“This level of direct regime leadership control surely passes the test that we've placed on for Russian infiltration,” Lord Walney said, referring to the measures taken against Putin-linked oligarchs following the invasion of Ukraine.
“We just need to be clearer than we have been that Iran's hostility in the region is an unwelcome threat to the UK. The government has been unwisely teetering on the edge of that, and the lack of clarity doesn't help.”
The call comes amid reports that Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, owns more than a dozen luxury properties in London, including in Kensington and Bayswater, with an estimated value of some £100 million.
The properties are alleged to have been purchased by an individual already under UK sanctions over suspicions of acting as a financier for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Local MP Joe Powell urged the government to impose sanctions.
He said on X: “I’m deeply concerned at media reports that the new Ayatollah has a London property empire… It’s vital sanctions are urgently considered – and this is an example of the importance of an accurate foreign property register to clamp down on dirty money in our capital.”
Kasra Aarabi, director of IRGC Research at United Against Nuclear Iran (Uani), echoed the call, urging ministers to “duplicate the Russian model” by setting up a task force to “identify and sanction regime oligarchs who are living lavish lifestyles in the UK on blood money.
“These are the sons and daughters of the IRGC commanders – in many cases, they are IRGC commanders.”
While the UK froze some £28.7 billion in Russian assets and designated over 3,000 individuals and entities, measures against Iran are not as extensive.
Despite proscribing key players in Iran’s oil, energy, nuclear and financial systems, and adding new measures against people in the country’s finance, energy, transport, and software industries in January, individuals connected to the regime are still able to own assets in Britain.
Referring to the revelations about Khamenei’s property portfolio in central London, Arabi urged authorities to “freeze those assets.”
The warnings were made at Westminster on Wednesday during the launch of Undue Influence, a report tracking support for the Islamic Republic within the UK charity sector.
The report, authored by Lord Walney, refers to 30 organisations it suspects of acting as “soft power” tools for the regime.
Lord Walney urged the government to proscribe the IRGC.
“The proscription of the IRGC looms large over all of this. It would make shutting down the soft-power network much easier if you have properly identified the IRGC as the terrorist organisation that it is,” he said.
Arabi accused the government of being “asleep at the wheel” over IRGC influence in the UK and claimed that the Labour party had “played politics with national security.”
Earlier this week, new powers for the Charity Commission were announced, giving the watchdog the ability to close institutions that promote extremism.
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