No Longer in the Shadows: Britain's Intelligence Chief Is Worried - Iran Has Moved to the Next Stage of the Plan
The head of MI5, Ken McCallum, warns that Iran is expanding its activity against military targets, against the backdrop of a suspected plot against Royal Air Force base Fairford, which was used by American bombers. According to him, there has been a significant change in Iranian aspirations to act against harder targets. The threat also includes attempts to harm regime opponents, Jewish and Israeli targets.
The head of MI5, Ken McCallum, warns that Iran has moved to the next stage of its plan and is expanding its activity against military targets. These remarks come against the backdrop of a suspected plot against Royal Air Force base Fairford, which was used by American bombers during the strikes in Iran. McCallum said there has been a significant change in Iranian aspirations to act against harder targets, and that the incident is not unique. At the end of September, seven suspects were arrested near the base, after a quantity of flammable material was found in three vehicles. They were released on bail. The US removed bombers that had been stationed at the base. The Iranian threat in Britain also includes attempts to harm regime opponents, Jewish and Israeli targets. Earlier this year, two people were charged with carrying out surveillance for Iran on targets that included the Israeli embassy in London, a synagogue and Jewish community institutions. In July, Britain imposed sanctions on an organisation linked to Iran after it took responsibility for seven attacks against sites connected to Jewish and Israeli communities. McCallum noted that the scope of threats from foreign states has grown fourfold over the past decade, and that MI5 is allocating more resources than during the Cold War. Russia remains the number one aggressor, but the rise in the scope of Iranian activity has made Tehran one of the central challenges.