ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iran on Tuesday condemned the United Kingdom’s plans to ban support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies under new state threat powers announced a day earlier, calling it “ridiculous and provocative.“

The UK government on Monday announced plans to designate the IRGC and its proxies under new state threat powers, enabling authorities to prosecute those found assisting the groups without needing to establish a foreign power connection in every case.

If the legislation is approved by parliament later this week, anyone found supporting or assisting these groups could face 14 years in prison, while conducting acts of sabotage on behalf of the groups could result in life imprisonment.

The Iranian foreign ministry called the move an “unjustified, irresponsible act that is contrary to the fundamental principles and rules of international law, including the principle of sovereign equality of states and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of countries.”

“The British government's move to label an official institution of an independent state as a security agency is a ridiculous and provocative move,” it said, adding that the UK has no right to accuse others while it has “a long history of interfering in the internal affairs of countries and colonial policies in all parts of the world, especially in the West Asian region.”

The legislation is not specific to Iranian groups, and also targets Russian proxies.

On Monday the British government said that the IRGC and Iran-linked Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR) have so far claimed responsibility for at least seven attacks in the UK, targeting locations linked to Jewish and Israeli communities as well as Persian-language media.

It added that the IRGC has “certainly directed IMCR attacks across Europe.”

The UK has also long accused Iran of engaging in espionage and efforts to intimidate and kill dissidents on British shores.

“While baseless security claims have formed the basis of this hostile decision against Iran, Britain itself is a host and supporter of terrorist and violent networks and groups,” the Iranian foreign ministry said.

The developments came after Iran on Thursday summoned the British ambassador to Tehran Hugo Shorter to hand him a formal note of protest after London alleged that the stabbing of an Iran International journalist in 2024 was orchestrated at the behest of the Iranian state.