Iran has hit back at Britain with a list of its own. In a statement released on Sunday, the Iranian foreign ministry declared the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force to be “terrorist organisations” and placed MI6, the overseas intelligence service, in the category of a “hostile group”. According to the ministry, the measures became effective the moment the statement was published.
Tehran says the move rests on a resolution of its Supreme National Security Council and is meant as a reciprocal answer to what it calls a year of British hostility. Two grievances stand out. The first is that the UK, in Iran’s telling, joined the US-Israeli war on the country by opening bases and logistics on British soil. The second dates from 13 July, when London brought the Revolutionary Guards within the scope of its new State Threats Act 2026.
The legal tools are existing Iranian statutes. MI6 now sits under a law that toughens punishment for espionage and for working with Israel or countries Tehran regards as enemies. The two armed services are covered by a separate act that was originally passed after Washington listed the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist body. Officials framed it as lawful retaliation, adding that any fallout would be London’s problem to answer for.
What the labels will mean in practice was not spelled out. The gesture is pointed all the same: a whole navy and air force of a European state are now officially terrorists in the eyes of the Islamic Republic.
It also comes as Tehran keeps Washington at arm’s length. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Saturday that no meeting with American officials is planned for now. Contact runs through Qatari and Pakistani intermediaries, and Iran says it will only choose between direct and indirect talks once the US accepts its conditions.
