Iran has been linked to at least 15 attempted assassinations or kidnappings on British soil since 2022, according to a new report by the UK’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC). The report warns of a sharp rise in the physical threat posed by Tehran, particularly towards dissidents, critical media outlets, and, on occasion, prominent Jewish individuals.
While the Iranian threat is smaller in scale than those posed by Russia or China, UK intelligence agencies described it as notably “persistent” and “unpredictable.” Officials said the regime often outsources these plots to criminal gangs or third-party agents, rather than using its own nationals. MI5 confirmed that Tehran increasingly employs “groups you wouldn’t at all expect” to carry out its operations.
The ISC said the government has focused too narrowly on Iran’s nuclear programme and urged a more strategic, long-term approach. While the report does not take a position on whether to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), it acknowledged that such a move would entail major legal and diplomatic hurdles.
The threat, UK security officials warned, is “now the greatest level of threat we face from Iran”—on par with Russia.
