UANI’s #KhameneiFreeZone campaign aims to dismantle the Iranian regime’s infiltration network across Europe. Since the 1980s, Iran’s Supreme Leader and his paramilitary organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have used ideological centers, mosques, and cultural sites to spread Islamist extremist ideology, propagate extreme antisemitism, enable radicalization, and coordinate terror activities. 

#KhameneiFreeZone exposes these entities operating on European soil. UANI's objective is to drive action to get these centers and networks shut-down and expel Khamenei’s representatives, protecting communities in Europe from the threat of IRGC Islamist extremism, radicalization and terrorism.

UK

Khamenei’s Islamist Extremist Network in Britain

Islamic Centre England (ICE)

Kilburn, London

Ayatollah Khamenei’s HQ in the UK

The Islamic Centre England (ICE) operates as Ayatollah Khamenei’s official UK headquarters and its director is the official UK representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader. ICE has repeatedly carried out Islamist extremist activities affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an entity subject to terrorism sanctions. ICE poses a terror threat to the British public for its involvement in:

Islamist Radicalization. In June 2022, an IRGC-affiliated propaganda anthem – “Salute Commander” – designed to radicalize children was filmed in ICE premises. In the anthem, British children pledge their allegiance to Khamenei and their willingness to join an apocalyptic army to kill Jews and infidels.

Hate Speech. In October 2022, Seyyed Hashem Moosavi, ICE’s head, called women who remove their hijabs “poison” and said democracy protesters in Iran, and their supporters, are “soldiers of Satan”.

Support for, and Communication with, Terrorists. ICE has frequently hosted IRGC-linked activity on its premises, including a 2020 vigil for IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani - a UK designated terrorist. It has also hosted online, and shared platforms with IRGC commanders and members.

Islamic Students Association (ISA)

Hammersmith, London

Affiliated with IRGC which is subject to terrorism sanctions 

The Islamic Students Association (ISA) operates under Khamenei’s office. It has a branch in Hammersmith, London. It hosted online at least 8 IRGC commanders where they glorified terrorism, propagated extreme antisemitism and even called on British students to join their apocalyptic army that would – in their own words – “end the lives of Zionists and Jews everywhere in the world.”

Saeed Ghasemi, one of the IRGC commanders who spoke to UK students, has boasted about training al-Qaeda operatives in Europe. Another, Hossein Yetka, is a deeply antisemitic militant, who has previously claimed “Jews created homosexuality”. Ali Fazli – one of the IRGC’s most violent and extremism commanders – also addressed British students, despite being subject to UK sanctions for gross human rights violations. 

The ISA operates out of Kanoon Towhid, in Hammersmith.

The Islamic College 

Willesden Green, London 

UK-affiliated branch of the Khamenei-run Al Mustafa University

Al-Mustafa University is directly linked to Iran’s Supreme Leader, with its head appointed by, and accountable to, Khamenei. The university is affiliated with the IRGC and serves as its global recruitment hub for terrorist militia and cells. Al-Mustafa’s leadership is open about its ties to UK designated terrorists like Hezbollah. 

In 2022, the UK government acknowledged Al-Mustafa’s ties to terrorism and its role in recruiting its students for the IRGC’s Quds Force – which is subject to terrorism sanctions.

Despite this, the government has yet to shut-down its UK affiliate branch, the Islamic College. Its degrees are reportedly still validated by Middlesex University.

Timeline of IRGC Terrorist Activity in the UK

  • 2020

    January 

    • The Islamic Centre of England (ICE) - Khamenei’s UK HQ in Kilburn - holds a vigil for UK-designated terrorist Qassem Soleimani. 
    • Chants of “Death to Israel and America” in Hammersmith at the Islamic Students Association (ISA) – Khamenei’s UK student network.

    September 

    • ISA hosts Islamist extremist IRGC commander Hossein Yekta who instructs students in the UK to raise the flag of the “Islamic Revolution, Islam and martyrdom”.
    • ISA hosts Islamist extremist IRGC commander Ali Fazli, who is subject to UK sanctions for gross human rights violations.

    November 

    • ISA hosts IRGC hostage-taker Ezzataollah Zarghami, who is subject to UK sanctions for human rights abuses.
  • 2021

    January

    • Islamist extremist IRGC commander Saeed Ghasemi - who trained al-Qaeda terrorists - is hosted by ISA, and calls on UK students to join an apocalyptic army to kill Zionists and Jews.

    May 

    • IRGC terrorist flag is raised in central London at anti-Israel rally. 
  • 2022

    April

    • The UK government acknowledges Iranian Al-Mustafa University’s ties to terrorism, but fails to shut down its UK-affiliated branch, The Islamic College. 

    July

    • IRGC-affiliated propaganda anthem – “Salute Commander” – filmed in ICE premises, where British children pledge allegiance to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Khamenei. 

    October

    • ICE director calls women who remove hijabs “poison” and Iranian pro-democracy protestors and their supporters “soldiers of Satan.” 

    November 

    • IRGC terrorist plot to kill two British journalists in London, is foiled by police. 
  • 2023

    January 

    • UK national and ISA Europe head meets Ayatollah Khamenei privately in Iran. 

    February

    • MI5 confirms 15 Khamenei regime terror plots in the UK were foiled in 2022.
    • UK uncovers Iranian regime list of British Jews for terror campaign.
  • 2024

    April

    • British journalist Pouria Zeraati is stabbed in Wimbledon in IRGC terror attack. 

    October 

    • MI5 confirms at least 20 foiled Khamenei regime-backed terror plots in the UK since 2022. The number of threats to the UK from Khamenei’s regime has risen by almost 50 per cent since the start of 2024.