Britain announced sanctions against two members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and summoned the Iranian ambassador as part of measures it said targeted direct threats from Tehran and those carried out through its allies. The British government also said it was highly likely that the IRGC was involved in an attack linked to an incident near RAF Fairford.
Doughty announces response to Iranian threats
British Middle East Minister Stephen Doughty said on Tuesday that his country would confront any direct Iranian threat or one carried out through Tehran’s proxies, naming the Houthis, Hezbollah and Iraqi militias among the groups he was referring to. He added that Iran’s direct and indirect activities posed a threat to the United Kingdom and its allies, saying recent events had shown that the Iranian danger was “not theoretical”.
Doughty said London had imposed sanctions on two IRGC members over their role in threatening the United Kingdom. He also said he had summoned the Iranian ambassador the previous day and told him that Britain rejected threats directed at it and its allies.
Britain says IRGC involvement in Fairford attack highly likely
Regarding the incident at RAF Fairford, Doughty quoted the British Prime Minister as saying that IRGC involvement in the attack was highly likely. The remarks came amid rising tensions between London and Tehran over an investigation into an incident near the British airbase. London accused Tehran of involvement, while Iran denied responsibility.
British authorities accused the IRGC of being behind attacks targeting Jewish institutions. The allegations form part of London’s concerns over operations that it says are linked to Tehran not only through external threats but also through targets and institutions inside the United Kingdom. On the regional issue, Doughty reaffirmed London’s support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government and Saudi Arabia in confronting the Houthis.
Houthi threats put pressure on freedom of navigation
He said Britain was treating Houthi threats to the region with the utmost seriousness and was taking Iran’s threats to British national interests equally seriously. The British minister warned that developments in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea threatened the principles of freedom of international navigation, linking regional actions by Iran-aligned groups to the risks facing trade routes and international interests.
Doughty made the remarks as the Houthis attempted to target civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia, and after an attack the previous week on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that killed 13 people.
London views these developments as part of a broader pattern of regional threats that it says affect its allies and interests, whether issued directly by Iran or through groups linked to it.
