Physical threat from Iran to people in UK ‘now comparable with Russia’

At least 15 British people have faced murder or kidnap plots by Iran since the beginning of 2022, a new report has revealed.

The information was released today warning that threats from Iran to people in the UK are on a par with those from Russia.

The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said the danger to British people from Iran has increased significantly.

At particular risk are UK-based Iranian dissidents and Jewish or Israeli ‘interests’.

According to the report, the Middle East nation does not see these as attacks on Britain, but views the UK as ‘collateral’ in its campaign to silence perceived enemies.

It warns that Iran intelligence services are using:

• ‘Thuggish proxies’: Use of organised criminal gangs and drug smuggling networks. 
• Kidnap and lure operations: Luring individuals to a third country where they can be ‘forcibly returned to Iran’.
• Targeting media: Focusing on Farsi-language media organisations in London, such as Iran International. 

Lord Beamish, chair of the committee, described Iran as posing ‘a wide-ranging and persistent and unpredictable threat, adding that its intelligence services are ‘ferociously well-resourced’ and have a ‘high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity.

While China and Russia have greater resources, the ISC quoted an intelligence source who described Iran as having a ‘risk appetite which is very “pokey” indeed’.

The source added that while Russia and China are in the ‘Premier League’ of threats, Iran is ‘top of the Championship, but rising’.

The government was criticised for its ‘short-termist, reactive approach, saying a strategy needs to be put in place looking at the ‘next five, 10, and 20 years, not just six to 12 months’.

The report also hit out at the lack of expertise within government, quoting one damning critique: ‘If you have people running policy in the Foreign Office who don’t speak a word of Persian, then that is a fat lot of good, to be honest’

Beyond direct physical threats, the report also warns that Iran is on the threshold of being able to build a nuclear bomb; Iranian-linked cultural centres in the UK, such as the Islamic Centre of England, have been used to promote ‘violent and extremist ideology; and cyber spies have targeted airline and travel companies to steal data on dissidents.

The reports evidence-gathering concluded before the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent escalation of conflict in the Middle East. However, the ISC warned that its recommendations ‘remain relevant’.

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