The Iranian Embassy in London has sparked national security concerns by urging UK residents willing to die for the regime to sign up for an official 'martyrdom' program. Consulate officials posted a message encouraging 'proud Iranian compatriots residing in Britain' to register for its 'Jan Fada' – or 'sacrificing life' – program.
The post asked for 'all brave and noble children of Iran' with a 'desire for the people's defence of the land of Iran' to come forward in a 'display of solidarity, loyalty, and national zeal.' Chillingly, the message in Farsi on the embassy's official Telegram channel read: 'Let us all, to a man, give our bodies to be slain; For it is better than giving our country to the enemy.'
Security Threat Assessment
The regime launched the Jan Fada campaign last month. A spokesman for the embassy claimed it 'does not promote any form of hostility.' However, Australian police are investigating a similar recruitment drive from the Sydney embassy, while Iranian security experts warned this is a 'significant' security threat. Scotland Yard has been contacted for comment as members of the diaspora called for action to be taken.
Roger Macmillan, former director of security at Iran International, a UK-based dissident news channel, said: 'It is horrific the fact that this is on UK soil. This is an attempt at radicalisation online of people who could be persuaded by the regime to commit acts in support of the Islamic Republic in the UK.' He added: 'This is a significant threat to security and of our whole way of life. It is a way of finding out who is supportive of the regime. They are not going to go back to Iran, it is for here in the UK.'
Mr Macmillan warned the regime was not necessarily looking just for Iranians, but for any potential sympathisers prepared to act for them. 'This is an escalation that is very, very worrying indeed,' he said. 'They are not interested in being discreet. This is the Russian playbook on steroids.'
Call to Proscribe IRGC
Dr Nadeh Fallah from the Iranian Human Rights & Allies group warned this is a wake-up call for Britain to finally proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC). He said the IRGC is 'actively seeking to radicalise, recruit and exert influence' on British soil. 'This is utterly unacceptable and deeply alarming,' Dr Fallah told the Mail. 'We already know the Iranian regime has been targeting individuals in the UK and beyond - this is just the latest, most brazen example of that activity taking place in plain sight. This kind of messaging is not benign. It is designed to appeal to the most hardline, ideologically driven individuals and to encourage a dangerous culture of fanaticism and martyrdom. That should concern every policymaker and every security agency in this country.'
The post directed sympathisers to the Iranian Foreign Ministry website where they could sign up to the Jan Fada programme through its Mikhak system. This is the official consular services platform every Iranian must use if they want anything from a passport or ID card to getting married, registering the birth of a child or selling property.
Broader Context
There are significant security concerns as detectives are probing whether an attack on Jewish ambulances in London last month has links to Iran. Sir Keir Starmer finally pledged to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation in the King's Speech last week, which would bring Britain in line with the US and Canada. But he has yet to introduce the legislation despite growing evidence of Iran's involvement in attacks against the Jewish community and Iranian dissidents in the UK.
The Iranian-linked Islamist group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI) claimed responsibility for an arson attack at the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, northwest London, last weekend. It was the fifth attack on the Jewish community within the past week claimed by the group, which is being investigated by the UK's intelligence service over its links to the Iranian state.
A spokesman for the Iranian Embassy in London said: 'Iranians around the world have always cared deeply about their homeland and the protection of its territorial integrity and they always will. The “Jan Fada” platform is intended for all Iranians who wish to support and defend their country, and it does not promote any form of hostility. Any claims or assumptions to the contrary are simply unfounded. Such biased judgments are made hastily and without proper understanding.'
