‘Hesitant’ Keir Starmer told to expel Iran’s ambassador ‘at once’ after RAF base threat

Prince Reza Palavi’s closest aide and senior MPs have called on Keir Starmer to expel the Iranian ambassador in London after he threatened to attack British bases.

MPs from across the political divide told Metro that Seyed Ali Mousavi should be kicked out of the UK after he signalled Iran could target UK military sites linked to the war in the Middle East.

Cameron Khansarinia, who is the chief of staff to the exiled prince of Iran, demanded the prime minister expel Tehran’s representative ‘at once’ and proscribe the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group.

Lebanon’s government has already expelled their Iranian top diplomat since the outbreak of the war, while Australia kicked out its ambassador last summer over antisemitic attacks linked to Iran.

Keir Starmer has not taken the same action, despite condemning Iran’s outrageous strikes across the Gulf, including against RAF bases.

The final straw for critics of the Regime came this week when Mousavi said Tehran is considering strikes on British military sites because US bases are using them in the Middle East.

In response, Mr Khansarinia said: ‘The Islamic Regime is a direct threat to Britain’s national security… Its Ambassador has even threatened to attack UK military bases.’

The top aide to Iran’s leading opposition figure, Reza Pahlavi, continued: ‘Its terrorist ambassador should not have the pleasure of serving at the Court of St. James and should be expelled at once.’

These calls were echoed by Bob Blackman MP, the chair of the influential 1922 committee of Tory MPs, and high-profile Iran hawk.

The Harrow East MP Metro: ‘An ambassador who stands in London and tells us that British bases and British lives are legitimate targets has no place in this country.

‘He should be expelled immediately. The Iranian embassy should be shut down, every IRGC agent and intelligence operative on British soil shown the door, and the IRGC proscribed as a terrorist organisation without further delay.’

The UK has expelled the Iranian ambassador before.

The Coalition government kicked out all of Iran’s diplomats after the storming of the British embassy in Tehran in 2011, before the Islamic Republic returned to London in 2015.

Labour MP Luke Akehurst piled more pressure on the Prime Minister to do the same again with Mousavi, questioning Sir Keir’s response to Iran’s ongoing strikes in the Middle East.

The North Durham MP told Metro: ‘It doesn’t make sense that we have normal diplomatic relations with Iran, a state that is attacking our allies in the Gulf, blockading our oil supply in the strait of Hormuz, sponsoring terrorism, and slaughtering tens of thousands of democracy protesters.

‘I would favour expelling their Ambassador and withdrawing our own diplomats from Iran.’

The Foreign Office has twice summoned Iran’s ambassador in London for a dressing down since the start of the conflict in the Middle East.

However Conservative MP Greg Stafford said the situation with Iran had ‘now moved beyond half-measures’.

The Farnham and Bordon MP told Metro: ‘Recent remarks by Iran’s Ambassador are utterly unacceptable. Any suggestion that the United Kingdom could be targeted, in any form, amounts to a direct threat and must be treated as such.

‘Yet the Labour Government’s response has been hesitant and wholly inadequate…The Iranian Ambassador should be expelled without delay.’

Sir Keir once again faced calls to clamp down on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) over claims the group is involved in spreading violence in the UK.

The Prime Minister has so far refused to proscribe the IRGC, which would make it illegal to support the group in the UK, despite the fact the European Union, the US and Canada have done so.

Mr Khansarinia said: ‘The Islamic Regime has a network of operatives and terror cells across the UK, threatening the lives of UK citizens.

He went on: ‘it is an abdication of moral responsibility and a shame that the Prime Minister has not sanctioned the IRGC.’

Former Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who also served as Shadow Defence Secretary, said: ‘The IRGC spreads terror, threatens British citizens, targets Iranian dissidents and fuels antisemitism and extremism, including here in the UK.

He continued: ‘If the Government were finally to proscribe the IRGC, it would fundamentally change our diplomatic relationship with the Iranian regime and would inevitably require the Iranian Ambassador to return home.

‘Labour should stop hiding behind process, proscribe the IRGC and take the steps necessary to protect British citizens.’

Both Bob Blackman and Greg Stafford called on the government to designate the IRGC as a terrorist group.

Downing Street has always emphasised the sanctions they have placed against the IRGC, using asset freezes, travel bans and director bans.

This has included more than 500 Iranian individuals and entities connected with the Regime.

In July 2025, the UK joined 13 other countries in condemning Iranian intelligence activities

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