UK faces ‘persistent and unpredictable threat’ from Iran, intelligence report warns

LONDON (AP) — A U.K. intelligence committee said Thursday that Iran has significantly increased its physical threat to people on British soil since 2022.

Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee said Thursday that the danger posed to Iranian dissidents and Jewish and Israeli interests was on par with the threat from Russia.

Between January 2022 and August 2023 there were at least 15 murder or kidnap attempts against British citizens or residents, the report said.

“Iran poses a wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat to the U.K.,” Kevan Jones, a member of the House of Lords and chair of the committee, said.

Iran’s embassy in London denied the findings of the report, describing them as “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, fueling unnecessary tensions and undermining diplomatic norms.”

The committee report said 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.

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

Three men alleged to be Iranian spies were charged in a London court in May with plotting violence against U.K.-based journalists for an Iranian news outlet.