Vahid Beheshti: Tom Tugendhat meets with British-Iranian hunger striker on day 33 of protest

Tom Tugendhat, the UK’s security minister, has met with a British-Iranian activist who is currently on hunger strike outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office.

Vahid Beheshti, 46, has been surviving on a daily diet of one cup of coffee, a few cubes of sugar, some salt and “plenty of water” since February 23.

He has one demand: for the UK government to designate Iran’s notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (or IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.

He said Mr Tugendhat, who met with Mr Beheshti on day 33 of his hunger strike, expressed concerns for his health and emphasised that the government’s position is to proscribe the IRGC.

Mr Beheshti said Mr Tugendhat could not share the timescale in which this would happen.

Mr Beheshti tweeted: “I explained to Mr Tugendhat that I remain firm in my position, and my concerns over the IRGC undermining our values, safety and security are growing everyday.

“In the end, I asked Mr Tugendhat to pass my message to our Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, that he must uphold his pledge to proscribe the IRGC which he made before being elected as our Prime Minister.

“I assured him that I will continue my hunger strike until the IRGC is officially proscribed by the government.”

The IRGC gained the attention of the world in recent months due to its brutal crackdown on protesters in Iran, led by women fighting for their human rights

Overseas, its agents have been accused of intimidating and threatening those who criticise the regime.

In London, it was accused of targeting journalists at the television station "Iran International", based in Chiswick. After an escalation of those threats, the station moved its headquarters to Washington DC in February.

The Iranian regime’s actions at home and abroad in recent months compelled Mr Beheshti to speak out in defence of people in his homeland, whom he says are suffering for simply voicing opposition to the regime.

“As days go by I become weaker and weaker. I lose more weight but internally I feel more determined and certain to continue,” he told LondonWorld.

“After Day 20 I started getting visits from the MPs, on Day 26 Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee raised my issue in Parliament.

“Penny Mordaunt MP also raised my case again.”

Mr Beheshti is being supported by his wife, Mattie Heaven, who is a Conservative councillor in Coventry and vice-chair of the West Midlands Conservatives.

“I can see the worry in her face. My whole family are very worried about me - in Iran as well.”

He says the support he has received has given him the “energy and motivation” to keep going.

Since Mr Beheshti started his hunger strike, several other tents have been pitched alongside his outside the Foreign Office.

A garden of flowers and signs of support have also accumulated over the last month.

Along with support from MPs, Mr Beheshti has received several visits from British-Iranian comedian Omid Djalili, Richard Ratcliffe and Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, and Anoosheh Ashoori.

Mr Ashoori, 68, was arrested in Tehran in August 2017, when he was in the country to visit his mother.

He was convicted for allegedly spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence and spent almost six years in Evin prison, where he staged two hunger strikes. He was released alongside Mrs Zaghari Ratcliffe in March 2022.

In a message of support to Mr Beheshti, he said: “The two golden rules for victory are:

“Rule No 1: Always remember that perseverance pays off.

“Rule No 2: Never forget Rule No 1.”

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman is responsible for proscribing groups as terrorist entities.

A UK government spokesperson said: “Whilst the government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not comment on whether a specific organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.”