Iran's hidden network of influence in Britain

Lord Walney's new report identifies as many as 30 UK charities, cultural centres, and religious institutions with alleged ties to the Iranian regime. One of them, until recently, required a trustee appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader.

This week on Craft Politics: Lord Walney — former independent advisor to the UK government on political violence and disruption — joins Joseph Lavoie and Andrew Percy to walk through his 100-page report, Undue Influence, and explain how a network of registered British charities has avoided serious scrutiny for years.

We discuss:

• The Islamic Centre of England — described in the report as the "central node," with a governing document that until recently required a trustee appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader
• Why nobody acted sooner — a former Charity Commission chair admitting on the record that fear of racism allegations made regulators reluctant to investigate, and what the years of silence have cost
• The proscription gap — Canada, the US, the EU, Sweden, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia have all listed the IRGC as a terrorist entity. Britain hasn't. Walney on why that single decision would change everything downstream
• Why a charity network matters when drones are hitting British air bases — Walney on the strategic logic running through both the soft power and the hard, and why the soft side is the harder one for democracies to dismantle

Read Lord Walney's full report, Undue Influence: https://powerfulstreet.com/Undue_Influence.pdf

00:00 Welcome and Iran's hidden influence networks in Britain
01:40 Introducing Lord Walney and the Undue Influence report
03:38 The 30-organization network and what it actually does
07:39 Why authorities failed to act for years
11:37 The racism accusation that paralyzed regulators
14:15 The Islamic Centre of England as the central node
16:16 Hiding in plain sight and the confidence of extremists
17:22 The double standard on extremism and radicalization
19:38 The IRGC recruitment links and terrorist connections
20:20 Why Britain refuses to proscribe the IRGC as terrorist
22:45 Reaction to the report and personal security threats
25:19 Lawfare and the weaponization of the legal system
27:54 New Charity Commission powers and political leadership
31:04 The anti-Muslim hatred definition and chilling effect
37:37 Two sides of the same coin—soft power and hard power
40:56 Defending democracy and the urgency of action