LONDON (AP) 鈥 Britain is facing a 鈥渟taggering rise鈥 in attempts at assassination, sabotage and other crimes on U.K. soil by Russia and Iran, as the two states recruit criminals to 鈥渄o their dirty work,鈥 the head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency said Tuesday.
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said his agents and police have tackled 20 鈥減otentially lethal鈥 plots backed by Iran since 2022 and warned that it could expand its targets in the United Kingdom if conflicts in the Middle East deepen.
So far, the threats have been aimed at Iranians abroad who oppose the country's authorities. But McCallum said there is the risk 鈥渙f an increase in 鈥 or broadening of 鈥 Iranian state aggression in the U.K.鈥 if the Middle East crisis escalates with Israel launching a major attack in response to Iran鈥檚 recent missile barrage.
In a rare public speech setting out the major threats to the U.K. from both states and militant groups, McCallum argued that hostile states, radicalized individuals and a revived Islamic State group have combined to create 鈥渢he most complex and interconnected threat environment we鈥檝e ever seen.鈥
McCallum said there also is a risk that Israel鈥檚 conflicts with Iran-backed groups 鈥 the militant Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as the 鈥 could trigger attacks in the U.K., though so far the crisis has not translated 鈥渁t scale into terrorist violence鈥 in Britain.
The number of state-threat investigations undertaken by MI5 has risen by 48% in the past year, with Iran, Russia and China the main perpetrators, McCallum told journalists at the U.K.鈥檚 counterterrorism command center in London.
McCallum said that since the , who died in Iranian police custody in September 2022 after being detained for allegedly violating the Islamic republic鈥檚 mandatory headscarf law, 鈥渨e鈥檝e seen plot after plot here in the U.K., at an unprecedented pace and scale.鈥
He said MI5 and the police have responded to 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots since January 2022, up by a third from the figure of 15 the government gave at the end of January.
McCallum said Russia鈥檚 military intelligence agency was trying to use 鈥渁rson, sabotage and more鈥 to create 鈥渕ayhem鈥 on the streets of Britain and other European countries.
Both Russia and Iran often turn to criminals, 鈥渇rom international drug traffickers to low-level crooks,鈥 to carry out their illegal deeds, he said.
Several alleged state-backed plots have led to criminal charges. In December, a Chechen man was jailed for allegedly carrying out reconnaissance on the offices of a dissident Iranian broadcaster in London. Separately, several suspects are awaiting trial in London over an alleged Russia-linked plan to attack Ukrainian-owned businesses.
Britain is not alone in pointing a finger at Moscow and Tehran. Germany has arrested several people for on behalf of Russia. In May, to target Israeli or Jewish interests in the Scandinavian country.
have emphasized China's increasingly assertive behavior, which in 2022 McCallum called Britain鈥檚 greatest "strategic challenge.鈥 On Tuesday, McCallum stressed the importance of the U.K.-China economic relationship but said there were 鈥渞isks to be managed.鈥
The U.K.鈥檚 official terror threat level stands at 鈥渟ubstantial,鈥 the middle of a five-point scale, meaning an attack is likely, and McCallum said that since 2017, MI5 and the police have disrupted 43 late-stage plots, saving 鈥渘umerous lives.鈥
While about three-quarters of the plots stem from Islamic extremist ideology and a quarter from the extreme right, he said those labels 鈥渄on鈥檛 fully reflect the dizzying range of beliefs and ideologies we see,鈥 drawn from a soup of 鈥渙nline hatred, conspiracy theories and disinformation." Young people are increasingly involved, he said, with 13% of the subjects of MI5 terror investigations under the age of 18.
He also said there were worrying signs that the Islamic State group is attempting a comeback, despite the collapse of its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria several years ago.
McCallum said that 鈥渁fter a few years of being pinned well back, they鈥檝e resumed efforts to export terrorism," and cited a March attack that and was claimed by IS, as 鈥渁 brutal demonstration of its capability.鈥
MI5 has , including a 2017 suicide bombing that killed 22 people at an .
鈥淭he first 20 years of my career here were crammed full of terrorist threats,鈥 McCallum said. 鈥淲e now face those alongside state-backed assassination and sabotage plots, against the backdrop of a major European land war.鈥
MI5, he said, 鈥渉as one hell of a job on its hands.鈥
___
Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen contributed to this story.
