Iran is no longer just eyeing soft targets in the West, according to Britain’s domestic spy chief. In an annual threat speech, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said a suspected plot against RAF Fairford—an English base used by US B-1 bombers to launch strikes on Iran—points to a broader Iranian push toward “harder targets” such as military and intelligence facilities, per Reuters. He said the Sept. 27 incident that led the US to pull a dozen bombers from the base was “not unique.” Six British nationals and a dual Iranian-British national have been arrested in the case, which remains under investigation, per the BBC.
McCallum said the Fairford case fits a wider pattern: more than 50 arrests in the past year tied to Iran-linked activity in Britain. But he said there had been a “major shift” and escalation from earlier lower-level attacks in which Tehran was accused of recruiting criminals online for sabotage and intimidation, often against Jewish communities. His speech “underscores the extent to which US allies are grappling with fallout from the US-Israeli war with Iran,” reports the Washington Post. Still, McCallum, who unveiled a new MI5 unit focused on AI-fueled cyberattacks, said Russia “remains aggressor No. 1.” Both Russia and Iran deny involvement in hostile acts in the UK, per Reuters.