Britain is facing a dangerous new era of national security, with MI5 warning that Iran is actively expanding a “hybrid campaign” of violence targeting Jewish communities across the UK.
In his annual threat assessment delivered today (October 13), MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum described the current global climate as being as volatile as the period following the 9/11 terror attacks. While Russia remains the UK’s primary state aggressor, Sir Ken highlighted that Iran is increasingly “subcontracting” violence through criminal proxies to intimidate dissidents and strike Jewish sites.
The intelligence chief expressed deep concern over the scale of Iranian-linked operations, noting that they have led to more than 50 arrests in the UK over the past year. A significant portion of this hostility has been directed at Jewish communities, which Sir Ken described as “sickening acts,” including arson and sabotage targeting synagogues, ambulances, and businesses.
These operations have been linked to a group operating under the front of the “Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right,” which the security services have identified as being backed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Both entities have now been designated under the National Security Act to bolster the UK’s ability to prosecute and disrupt their activities.
“Those who would seek to cause mayhem on British streets—whether hired thugs or their paymasters overseas—will meet an unflinching response,” Sir Ken warned.
Manchester, in particular, has found itself at the center of these efforts. Recent legal proceedings highlight the severity of the threat: two Iranian nationals, Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, were recently charged with terror offenses. Prosecutors allege the pair carried out “hostile reconnaissance” on Jewish landmarks in the city, including the Jewish Museum and Heaton Park Synagogue, in the lead-up to Yom Kippur last month.
The Crown alleges the men were in contact with an overseas handler in Iran and were actively acquiring components—including instructions for a chlorine and brake-fluid-based explosive device—to carry out an attack. This case follows the conviction of three other Islamist extremists in February for planning to use automatic weapons against the city’s Jewish community.
Beyond state-sponsored threats, MI5 is grappling with the rapid evolution of technology. Sir Ken warned that terrorists are increasingly exploiting Artificial Intelligence to “supercharge” their capabilities. He cautioned that AI is being used to disseminate radicalizing propaganda, improve reconnaissance for attacks, and poses a “very real” risk of enabling individuals to manufacture biological weapons.
“Humans have never faced a foe which was smarter than we are,” Sir Ken said, emphasizing that the agency is now dedicating more resources to state-level threats than it did during the height of the Cold War. Despite these challenges, he maintained that MI5 remains committed to thwarting mass-casualty plots from a wide array of sources, ranging from extreme ideological groups to foreign state actors.
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