The UK is facing an increasingly serious and unpredictable national security threat from Iran, according to a new report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC). The findings, released on Thursday, underscore Iran’s expanding hostile activities on British soil and call for a stronger, long-term response from the UK government.
The report, which concludes an extensive inquiry into Iranian state activities, outlines Tehran’s involvement in assassination and kidnap plots, espionage, cyber attacks, and threats linked to its nuclear programme. The committee has raised alarm over a “sharp increase” in threats against regime critics based in the UK.
“Iran poses a wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat to the UK, UK nationals and UK interests,” said Lord Beamish, chair of the ISC. “Iran has a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity, and its intelligence services are ferociously well-resourced.”
The report accuses the UK government of focusing too narrowly on Iran’s nuclear ambitions while neglecting other significant threats. It criticises current policy as overly reactive, driven by crisis management rather than strategic planning.
“Iran is there across the full spectrum of all the kinds of threats we have to be concerned with,” Lord Beamish added, noting that despite operating on a smaller scale than Russia or China, Iran’s actions are persistent and should not be underestimated.
The ISC argues that countering Iran requires more resources and a comprehensive long-term strategy. The inquiry covers developments up to August 2023 and was reviewed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in March. UK intelligence agencies also had the opportunity to review and redact content for national security purposes.
Under parliamentary protocol, the government is expected to respond to the report within 60 days of its publication. The ISC, responsible for scrutinising the UK’s intelligence agencies including MI5, MI6, and GCHQ, says the gravity of Iran’s threat demands urgent attention and a shift away from short-term “fire-fighting” responses.
As tensions rise and Iranian activities become more audacious, the report serves as a stark reminder of the evolving complexity of global security threats faced by the UK.
