MI5 Head: Iran Shifting Tactics to UK Military Targets; RAF Fairford Incident ‘Not Unique’

LONDON — Iran is actively attempting to strike military installations within the United Kingdom, and the suspected plot to attack a U.S.-run air base in September was “not unique,” according to the head of Britain’s MI5 security service.

Ken McCallum, who leads the U.K.’s domestic security agency, stated that Tehran seeks to escalate its operations in Britain beyond the conventional targets associated with Iranians opposed to the Islamic authorities.

This shift has reportedly included arson and sabotage against Jewish sites, which British officials attribute to Iranian proxies.

McCallum described another significant development this year as Iranian ambitions to attack harder targets, such as military sites.

The incident at RAF Fairford “is not unique. There have been other examples, not just in the U.K. but around the world,” McCallum noted.

McCallum delivered a speech outlining major threats to the U.K. while detectives investigate a suspected terror plot against the U.S.-run base in western England, which has been used for bombing raids on Iran during this year’s conflict.

Scores of residents were evacuated from homes near the base on Sept. 27 as armed police officers and army bomb-disposal experts swarmed the rural area. Police later announced they had discovered a quantity of an accelerant, identified as gasoline, in three vans at the site, though no explosives were found.

British authorities have linked Tehran to the incident, which prompted the U.S. to relocate its bombers from RAF Fairford. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday that the apparent plot was “almost certainly” directed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Seven men in their 20s have been arrested and released on bail under investigation.

Iran has denied involvement, although it has previously stated that it considers any base used to attack its territory a legitimate target.

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