UK faces ‘constant, unpredictable’ threat from Iran, warns intelligence committee

A committee of the United Kingdom’s parliament said on Thursday that Iran has significantly increased its physical threat to the people on British soil since 2022 and poses a ‘constant, unpredictable’ danger. The UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee said that the danger posed to Iranian dissidents and Jewish and Israeli interests was on par with the threat from Russia.

The committee, which is tasked with overseeing Britain’s spy agencies, pointed out that there were at least 15 murder or kidnap attempts against British citizens or residents between January 2022 and August 2023.

“Iran poses a wide-ranging, persistent, and unpredictable threat to the UK, UK nationals, and UK interests,” said Lord Beamish, committee chair, and added, “Iran is there across the full spectrum of all the kinds of threats we have to be concerned with.”

The report said that Iran was not as strategic as Russia or China and slightly chaotic, with a “high appetite for risk” and “waves of activities”, rather than having a consistent plan.

‘Iran has a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity’

“Iran has a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity and its intelligence services are ferociously well-resourced with significant areas of asymmetric strength,” he further said.

It said the national security threat from Iran requires more resourcing and a longer-term approach. “Iran poses a wide-ranging threat to UK national security, which should not be underestimated: it is persistent and—crucially—unpredictable.”

Last year, the head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, warned of a staggering rise in attempts at assassination, sabotage, and other crimes on UK soil by both Iran and Russia.

The 206-page report was published on Thursday as part of an inquiry into national security issues relating to Iran.

It was sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in March and then circulated among UK intelligence organisations to give them the opportunity to request any redactions on national security grounds.

Iran rejects findings, terms them ‘unfounded, politically motivated and hostile’

Iran’s embassy in London denied the committee’s findings and termed them “unfounded, politically motivated and hostile allegations.”

“The suggestion that Iran engages in or supports acts of physical violence, espionage, or cyber aggression on British soil or against British interests abroad, is wholly rejected,” the embassy said in a statement.

“Such accusations are not only defamatory but also dangerous, fuelling unnecessary tensions and undermining diplomatic norms.”

A UK government spokesperson said, “This government will take action wherever necessary to protect national security, which is a foundation of our Plan for Change.

“We have already placed Iran on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme and introduced further sanctions against individuals and entities linked to Iran, bringing the total number of sanctions to 450.”