UK intelligence chief: Iran stepping up targeting of military bases
Theo Al Jazeera
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum has warned that Iran is intensifying efforts to target sensitive military sites, following a series of incidents at British airbases. He said 50 arrests were made over the past year to disrupt Iran-linked activity, though he questioned Tehran's capacity for sophisticated attacks.
The head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency, MI5, has warned that Iran is stepping up efforts to target sensitive military sites following a series of suspicious incidents at airbases in the country, despite Tehran denying any involvement.
Speaking in his annual address, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said Tehran's strategic calculus has shifted sharply this year, with "Iran's ambition to go after harder targets, such as military bases."
McCallum's warning came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was "almost certainly" behind a suspected plot targeting RAF Fairford — a base previously used by U.S. bombers to strike Iran. The incident prompted the United States to withdraw military aircraft from the base in early October 2026 over security concerns.
Incidents at British airbases
British police declared a major incident after three "suspicious" trucks approached RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on September 27. Five British men in their 20s were arrested "on suspicion of offences under the Explosive Substances Act," but were later released on bail.
Police said they found petrol in the three vehicles linked to the suspects, but no explosives. The men were subsequently released without charge under strict bail conditions. Two others, including an Iranian-born British national, were also arrested later but were both released. No one has been charged so far.
Earlier, two Latvian men were arrested for trespassing at RAF Molesworth — a site used by U.S. and NATO forces for intelligence operations — and were later released on bail.
On October 12, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the government had sanctioned two Iranian nationals accused of "involvement in facilitating or carrying out hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime." One is Ruhollah Bazghandi, head of the IRGC's counterintelligence operations, and the other is Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Jakki, described by British officials as a facilitator for Iran's Zindashti criminal network.
'Not an isolated case'
McCallum said he could not comment on the recent incident at RAF Fairford because it is an ongoing investigation, but stressed: "The incident at RAF Fairford... is not an isolated case. There have been other examples, not only in the UK but around the world."
According to the MI5 chief, British authorities carried out 50 arrests over the past year to disrupt Iran-linked activity.
However, McCallum expressed doubt about Iran's ability to carry out sophisticated attacks, such as using explosive-laden drones, given the limited sophistication of the operatives Tehran deploys in Britain. "Given what we have actually seen on the ground in the UK in recent years, that capability is a long way from this level," he said.
"That said, it is clear that in countries closer to Iranian territory, the IRGC has fairly extensive experience in using ordinary technology and combining it in more aggressive and sophisticated ways," the MI5 chief added.
Tehran, for its part, has rejected accusations related to the Fairford incident as well as all other allegations of harmful activity in Britain.
