UK spy chief warns Iran escalating military base attacks

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 18:57 · Archive

Britain's MI5 has warned that Iran is intensifying efforts to strike military installations, with over 50 arrests made in the past year.

MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum warned on Tuesday that Iran has significantly escalated its targeting of British military installations. In his annual threat update, McCallum said there had been a 'major shift' in Tehran's strategy this year, with Iranian ambitions now focused on 'harder targets, like military sites'. He noted that over 50 arrests linked to Iran-led operations had been made in the past year to disrupt these activities.

The warning follows a series of incidents at RAF bases. In late September, British police declared a major incident after three 'suspicious' vans drove close to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Five British men in their 20s were arrested on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act. Police found petrol in the vans but no explosives. All suspects were later released without charge on bail. Two Latvian men were separately arrested for trespassing at RAF Molesworth.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the RAF Fairford incident was 'almost certainly' directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The suspected plot prompted the United States to withdraw its long-range bombers from the base over security concerns. McCallum also said Iran had engaged in aggression against British Jewish communities, describing this as part of a broader pattern including the use of 'criminal proxies' and targeting of Israeli sites.

How it is being reported

• Iran focused on attacking "harder targets," U.K. spy chief warnsIran has made a "major shift" in its efforts to attack the United Kingdom, including going after harder targets such as military bases, the head of MI5 warned.CBS News · 13 Oct, 18:46
• UK spy chief says Iran is stepping up targeting of military basesMI5 chief says 50 arrests were made in past year to disrupt Iran-led operations.Al Jazeera · 13 Oct, 17:06

In this story: Iran · MI5 · Ken McCallum · RAF Fairford · Andy Burnham · RAF Molesworth · Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem