MI5 chief warns Iran is shifting toward military targets in Britain
publishers 13articles 14first reported 13 Oct, 12:45 UTCdeveloping since 13 Oct · 8 editions
Britain’s domestic intelligence chief warned Tuesday that Iran has intensified efforts against military sites in the United Kingdom, describing the change as a “major shift” in Tehran’s activity.
MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum said Iran-linked operations had led to more than 50 arrests in the past year. He cited recent incidents involving RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire, both used by the United States, while declining to discuss the continuing Fairford investigation in detail.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was “almost certainly” behind the suspected Fairford plot. British police began investigating after three suspicious vans were seen near the base on September 27. Petrol was found in vehicles linked to suspects, but no explosives were discovered, according to Al Jazeera. Seven people were arrested during the investigation and later released on bail; none has been charged. Two Latvian men arrested on suspicion of trespassing at RAF Molesworth were also released on bail.
Iran has denied involvement. McCallum said the Fairford episode was not unique, pointing to other cases in Britain and abroad, but added that Iran-linked operatives seen in the UK had not demonstrated the capability to conduct highly sophisticated attacks such as strikes using explosive drones.
McCallum also said threats from foreign states, including Iran, Russia and China, had quadrupled, leaving MI5 handling more state-backed threats than during the Cold War.
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Written from 8 articles, 2 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written within the hour the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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