Britain’s counter-extremism commissioner has called on the United Kingdom government to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorists like Hamas.

In a speech about extremist threats in the UK, Robin Simcox said on Thursday that the IRGC is carrying out acts of extremism not only around the world but also on British soil.

“We know one of Hamas’s key backers – financially and militarily – is Iran,” Simcox said in an address to the Royal United Services think-tank.

Simcox said that the UK, like the United States should protect its “national interests” and list the IRGC as a terrorist group. The US under the Trump administration designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization in 2019.

The warning comes amid growing concerns over state-backed threats from Iran to journalists and individuals living and working in the UK. Iranian-British journalists working for Persian speaking channels have been threatened of death and kidnapping by Iran agents, according to UK authorities.

In 2022, the Director General of MI-5 said that “Iran projects threat to the UK directly, through its aggressive intelligence services.”

Last year, Iran International reluctantly closed its London studios on advice of Metropolitan Police given serious threats to safety and security of its journalists. In September, after months of operating from its Washington DC bureau, Iran International relaunched its UK studios.

“The IRGC is not just a regular part of the Iranian government. It has operated like a terrorist organization ever since its inception, over four decades ago,” said Simcox.

“Who government does and does not proscribe is not down to me. But from a counter extremism perspective, I believe it is in the national interest,” he added.