The United Kingdom has consistently condemned and acted in the strongest possible terms against the Iranian regime. This includes against its horrendous killing of Iranian protesters, its attempts to advance its nuclear program and its malign global activity.
This week, the UK went two steps further. Firstly, we are using new powers under the UK’s new National Security (State Threats) Act to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR). This comes after the IMCR have publicly claimed seven attacks at UK locations linked to Jewish and Israeli communities, almost certainly directed by the IRGC.
Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members
(Photo: Vahid Salemi/AP)
Secondly, in response to recent attacks against the UK Jewish community, we have announced £250 million in new funding to provide a sustained, national response to protect British Jews. This funding will recruit more police officers, deliver a nationwide investigations hub and antisemitism training, and support the security services in thwarting terrorist attacks against the UK Jewish community.
But these new actions form only part of the ongoing UK response to the Iranian threat.
Militarily, we have acted in defense of our partners in the face of Iranian aggression. In April 2024, British Royal Air Force jets were in the air shooting down Iranian drones during Iran’s attack on Israel. In coordination with the U.S., between January 2024 and May 2025, the UK acted militarily against the Houthis in Yemen to thwart their unlawful armed attacks on shipping in an attempt to constrict freedom of navigation through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. During the recent war, the UK deployed air operations personnel to provide expertise to regional partners in managing complex airspace and UK forces shot down over 100 Iranian drones unlawfully targeting regional allies.
The UK also granted the U.S. permission to use British bases for the specific and limited defensive purpose of removing Iranian missile capabilities being used to kill innocent civilians, put British lives at risk, and strike at regional allies. Finally, along with France, the UK is leading preparations for a defensive multinational military mission to support safe, predictable and unimpeded transit for commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz once a sustained ceasefire is in place.
British Ambassador to Israel Simon Walters Photo: British Embassy Tel AvivDiplomatically, on February 2, 2026, the United Kingdom implemented yet another sanctions package against the Iranian regime, bringing the total number of UK sanctions on Iranian individuals and organizations to over 550. These include sanctions on the IRGC in its entirety and key members of the Iranian regime. These sanctions follow on from our imposition (working with France and Germany) of UN snapback sanctions on Iran in September 2025, which saw the reinstatement of six previously terminated UN sanctions resolutions on Iran for its failure to comply with its JCPOA commitments. The economic toll of these sanctions on the Iranian regime has been enormous and has restricted its ability to finance its malign activity overseas.
The UK will always act to protect our citizens and our allies against the threat posed by the Iranian regime. We are clear: the Iranian regime must not obtain nuclear weapons. It must cease its military attacks on its neighbors. And it must allow freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. We will continue to call out the regime’s brutal repression, and to take the necessary steps, including with partners, to protect our shared interests.
- The writer is the British ambassador to Israel.