As a British Iranian, the Government's decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a threat to national security is a deeply personal moment of relief.

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I left Iran as a child almost four decades ago, but I’ve never escaped the memories and stories of a country shaped by fear.

Iran is a nation of extraordinary heritage and culture, a civilisation that gave the world poetry, science and philosophy, and is associated with one of the earliest declarations of human rights under Cyrus the Great. Its history reflects tolerance, freedom of belief and respect for different peoples. That is why it is so painful to see my homeland represented today by a regime that has hijacked its identity and turned it into a source of repression, fear and extremism.

Nearly 15 years ago, I entered politics because I wanted to defend the democracy and freedoms Britain had given me; the very same freedoms denied to the people of my homeland. I began warning that the threat of the........

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