Vahid Beheshti: A 57-Day Hunger Strike Enters Its Deadly Stage

In late February 2023 Vahid Beheshti, a British Journalist who was born in Iran, started a hunger strike outside the British Foreign office to get the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) listed as a terrorist organization. Beheshti, who has felt the cruelty of the IRGC twice when he was arrested in Iran, is taking a stand for human rights and democratic values in the UK. According to Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, Iran (the IRGC) has been behind 15 credible threats against UK citizens within the last year.

The IRGC is the same organization that committed the terrorist attacks on flight PS752 that killed 55 Canadian citizens, the AMIA community centre bombing in Argentina, and the Mykonos restaurant bombing in Germany. The IRGC is also the centre hub that connects multiple foreign terrorist organizations like Hezboallah, Hamas, and Hashed Al Shabi.

As Vahid Beheshti nears the third month of his hunger strike we enter into the stage where he is facing a very real possibility of serious health consequences like blindness, organ failure, and even death. When the hunger strike started Vahid was a strong healthy man, but now he is confined to a wheelchair and has lost more than 30 lbs.

According to Beheshti, he does not think he will have the energy to be able to speak in the coming weeks. But talking to Beheshti he is committed to seeing this through to the end. In his own words, “This is a one-way street.” He will not eat again unless the IRGC is listed as a terrorist organization.

Even if he collapses and is taken to the hospital, the minute he regains consciousness, if he regains consciousness, he will head right back outside the Home Secretary’s office until James Cleverly does the right thing and lists the IRGC.

Many experts and activists have highlighted the importance of listing the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization, not just its foreign arm, the Quds Force. The IRGC is an ideological paramilitary entity akin to the Nazi SS, except over the last 44 years they have managed to consolidate considerable power in the Islamic Republic by strong-arming themselves into control over more than half of the domestic economy. By listing them as a terrorist organization, not only does it acknowledge the truth of the situation, but it creates an environment more effective than any sanctions package as Western businesses would really need to do their due diligence before doing any business with the Islamic Republic.

Currently, the US is the only country that has the entire IRGC listed as a terrorist organization. Canada has the Quds force listed and Parliament voted on a motion to list the IRGC in its entirety back in 2018, but Justin Trudeau has refused to follow through on that promise. Recently the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted to list the IRGC but that was stymied by Josep Borrell the EU’s high representative on foreign affairs.

The average person and many MPs understand the importance politically and morally of listing the IRGC, unfortunately, they have been obstructed by some of the most powerful people in the West, Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly among them. Despite this, people like Vahi Beheshti will see the IRGC listed as a terrorist organisation, or die trying.