The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament has warned that Iran presents a “wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat to the UK, UK nationals, and UK interests”, in a report published today.
The inquiry, based on evidence taken between August 2021 and August 2023, identifies Iranian state activity across assassination plots, cyber operations, espionage and disinformation.
The Committee’s chair, Lord Beamish, said Iran’s intelligence services were “ferociously well-resourced with significant areas of asymmetric strength”, and that Tehran uses proxies including “criminal networks, militant and terrorist organisations, and private cyber actors” to attack adversaries while maintaining plausible deniability.
The report documents a “sharp increase in the physical threat posed to dissidents and other opponents of the regime who are in the UK,” alongside “significant threats of Iranian espionage in support of potential future lethal activity.”
It also warns that the government’s response has focused too narrowly on Iran’s nuclear programme, at the expense of broader and sustained strategy. “Fire-fighting has prevented the Government from developing a real understanding of Iran, with a lack of Iran-specific expertise across Government,” the report states.
The Committee criticises “over-complicated” governance structures and warns of “too much talking at the expense of action.” It calls for long-term planning, stable resourcing, and greater deterrence in cyber space, including “raising the cost to Iran of launching a cyber attack on the UK.”
Despite progress since the committee issued its classified recommendations in April 2024, including the designation of Iran under the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme and a new power to proscribe state-backed groups such as the IRGC, it notes that “gaps remain.” In particular, the Committee accuses ministers of “backtracking” on promises to reform the Official Secrets Act 1989.
While the report does not cover developments after August 2023, including the 7 October Hamas attacks or subsequent strikes on Iran, it stresses that the findings “remain relevant,” and provide “essential context” for understanding the evolving Iranian threat.
Lord Beamish concluded: “Iran is there across the full spectrum of all the kinds of threats we have to be concerned with… The national security threat from Iran requires a longer-term view, and resourcing must be consistent with that threat.”
Will I never.