The British authorities will present a law aimed at combating the “threat from foreign countries” inside the country, follows from the throne speech of King Charles III in parliament.
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The throne speech is delivered by the King at the opening of the regular session of Parliament. In it, the monarch outlines a program of legislative measures that the government intends to implement during the upcoming parliamentary session. The King’s speech was broadcast on the parliament’s website.
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“My government will adopt a law aimed at combating the growing threat from foreign state structures and their puppets,” the king said.
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The speech is about the Tackling State Threats Bill.
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Earlier, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the law would give the government new powers to declare foreign government structures as terrorist organizations. In particular, London intends to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGC) to the list of terrorists.
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In April, Starmer promised to declare the IRGC a terrorist organization at the next session of parliament.
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In January, the Times newspaper reported that the British Interior Ministry was preparing sanctions against the IRGC, but the process was slowing down due to the legal and diplomatic complexity of recognizing government agencies as terrorist.
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According to the newspaper, the Foreign Intelligence Service (MI6) and the Foreign Ministry express concerns that the sanctions will disrupt the diplomatic channels that Britain and its allies rely on and lead to the expulsion of British diplomats from Tehran.
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On January 29, the head of EU diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, announced that the European Union had decided to add the IRGC to the list of terrorist organizations. On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arak stressed that the EU was making a big strategic mistake, and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic noted that European politicians would be fully responsible for this step.
