Iran designates Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organizations and classifies MI6 as hostile entity in retaliatory move

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has designated Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organizations and classified the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, as a hostile entity, escalating tensions between Tehran and London following Britain’s actions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The council said the measures were adopted in response to what Tehran described as Britain’s direct participation in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and London’s decision to place the IRGC under the UK’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.

Under the decision, Iran said the Royal Navy and RAF would be treated as terrorist organizations, while MI6 would be classified as a hostile organization.

The Supreme National Security Council also ordered relevant Iranian institutions to implement measures against individuals and entities linked to the three British organizations under the country’s national security and counterterrorism laws.

Tehran accused Britain of providing military, intelligence and logistical assistance to U.S. and Israeli operations during the war, including support from British military facilities in the region.

The UK government has defended its actions as necessary to protect British national security and counter what it describes as hostile Iranian state activity.

London announced in October that the IRGC would be placed on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, requiring individuals carrying out specified activities in Britain at the direction of the IRGC to register or face criminal penalties.

The measure stopped short of proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organization under Britain’s Terrorism Act, a step successive UK governments had resisted over concerns about its legal and diplomatic consequences.

Iran’s latest decision marks a further deterioration in relations with Britain as Tehran increasingly targets Western military and intelligence institutions with reciprocal legal and political measures following the war.