UK expresses concern over 'staggering rise' of Iranian-led terrorism in Europe

The director-general of the British intelligence agency MI5, Ken McCallum, along with his European counterparts, are increasingly concerned about the growing terror threats from Iran and Russia across the European continent.

On Tuesday, McCallum warned of the “staggering rise” in attempts by Iran and Russia to assassinate individuals on British soil. He stated that both governments are using local criminal gangs "to do their dirty work."

McCallum, who has worked for MI5 for nearly 30 years, noted a 48% increase in terror threats in the United Kingdom. The majority of threats are reportedly linked to Iran, Russia and China. A whopping 75% of MI5’s counter-terrorism cases mainly involve radical Islam, while the rest primarily deal with threats from various far-right groups.

The MI5 head further warned that the growing terror threat in Europe was linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East between Iran's regional proxies and the State of Israel.

“Today, we are powerfully alive to the risk that events in the Middle East directly trigger terrorist action in the UK, as we saw with last October’s knife attack in Hartlepool. The ripples from conflict in that region will not necessarily arrive at our shores in a straightforward fashion; they will be filtered through the lens of online media and mixed with existing views and grievances in unpredictable ways,” McCallum assessed.

He revealed that MI5 and other British authorities have prevented at least 20 Iranian terror plots in the UK in the past two years alone. The intelligence chief believes that if Israel launches a retaliatory military strike on Iran, Tehran could opt for “an increase in – or broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK.”

On Oct. 1, Iran launched an unprecedented missile attack on the Jewish state, which involved some 180 ballistic missiles. Israeli and American aerial defenses neutralized the majority of the incoming Iranian missiles, however, some made impact, wounding several and causing material damage.

The Oct. missile attack was the second time in six months that the Iranian regime launched a direct attack on Israel from its own territory. Israel has vowed to respond strongly to Iran's aggression and is currently discussing the issue with the Biden administration.

Meanwhile, Norway has raised its terror threat level from moderate to high because of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

"[Norwegian Police Security Service] raises the terror threat level in Norway from moderate to high as a result of the ongoing escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. It is primarily the threat to Jewish and Israeli targets that has been further intensified," Norwegian security intelligence stated.

A European report recently documented the Iranian regime’s use of criminal gangs to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe. Due to its limited conventional military capabilities, the Iranian government usually resorts to asymmetrical warfare, which involves terrorist proxies in the Middle East, as well as terrorist cells and criminals in the West.

In May, Israeli intelligence warned that Sweden and other European countries have become important recruiting grounds for Iranian terrorist and criminal activities.

“Iran operates many criminal organizations in Sweden and Europe, in general, while taking advantage of the relative advantage of each and sometimes the rivalry between them,” Israeli intelligence stated.