UK shies away from designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terrorist group

Government says it plans to instead expand sanctions criteria, in decision likely to anger many MPs

The UK has rejected calls to proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist group in favour of expanding the criteria by which supporters and companies can be put under sanctions.

The new sanctions regime will for the first time allow ministers to sanction individuals for their activities inside the UK, and not just in Iran.