MI5 chief warns Iran escalating attacks on UK military sites, Russia expanding hybrid warfare
Ken McCallum says state threats have quadrupled in a decade as both adversaries intensify operations against Britain and its allies.
What to know
- MI5 reports a major shift in Iranian targeting toward UK military sites, with Iran-linked operations leading to 50+ arrests in the past year, though practical capabilities remain limited by reliance on unsophisticated proxies.
- Russia identified as 'aggressor number one,' deploying hybrid warfare tactics including drone and cyber attacks on European infrastructure at a time when military progress in Ukraine is 'minimal and horrifically costly.'
- State threats have quadrupled in a decade, forcing MI5 to allocate more resources than during the Cold War.
- AI-enabled bioweapon development is flagged as the gravest emerging terrorism concern, though not yet realized in practice.
“That said, clearly it is the case that in countries closer to its own homeland, the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) has quite deep experience of using more conventional and hybrid technology in a more aggressive and sophisticated way.”
Ken McCallum, MI5 Director General · Straits Times World ↗
Ken McCallum MI5 Director General
Andy Burnham British Prime MinisterIran State actorRussia State actor
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articles
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McCallum assesses Iran's practical attack capabilities as limited in UK context
Asked about Iran's capability to launch complex attacks using explosive drones, McCallum said Iran was limited by the sophistication of criminals and proxies it used for UK operations. However, he acknowledged the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had deeper experience with conventional and hybrid technology in countries closer to Iran.
“Given what we've actually seen in practice in the UK in recent years, that has not been anywhere near (that) level of capability.”
— Ken McCallum -
background
McCallum identifies AI-enabled bioweapons as greatest terrorism threat — McCallum said the greatest concern about AI misuse was terrorists developing bioweapons or creating new pathogens. He stated this was the area on which he and MI5 colleagues were particularly focused, though the capability had not yet been realized.
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background
McCallum highlights major shift in Iranian military targeting ambitions — McCallum said there had been a major shift this year in Iranian ambitions to target harder objectives like military sites, citing the RAF Fairford incident as not unique and noting similar examples worldwide. He stated Iran-linked operations had led to more than 50 arrests over the past year.
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MI5 director warns of escalating Iran and Russia threats in annual speech
Ken McCallum, director general of MI5, said Iran is ramping up attempts to hit harder targets such as military sites in Britain, while Russia is escalating hybrid warfare against Ukraine's allies. McCallum stated state threats have quadrupled over the last decade, requiring more MI5 resources than during the Cold War.
“It's no accident that Russian aggressors are trying to unsettle other European homelands at a time when their military progress in Ukraine is minimal and horrifically costly.”
— Ken McCallum -
first by WSJ, 19h ago · also RTE News, Al-Monitor, Straits Times, Reuters, The Times of Israel, Global News +3
5 more headlines
- Iran, Russia ramping up hybrid campaigns in UK, says MI5 RTE News · 18h ago
- Iran and Russia ramping up hybrid campaigns in Britain, UK spy chief says Al-Monitor · 18h ago
- Iran and Russia targeting Britain with hybrid methods, UK spy chief says Reuters · 15h ago
- MI5 says Iran, Russia ramping up hybrid campaigns in UK RTÉ · 15h ago
- Iran and Russia are stepping up hybrid campaigns in Britain, UK spy chief says Japan Today · 10h ago
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first by The New Arab, 1d ago
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