By Noureddine Omar | 2025-08-28

Iran poses a "persistent and wide-ranging" threat to the United Kingdom, with at least 15 attempted murders or kidnappings targeting British nationals or UK-based individuals since 2022, according to the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee's July report.

Often conducted through third-party agents, the operations are orchestrated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which uses its asymmetric capabilities to extend authoritarian control beyond Iran's borders.

Military expert Yahya Mohammed Ali warned that the IRGC views opponents as military targets to be eliminated, even if they hold citizenship in Western countries.

The IRGC is no less dangerous than terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, Ali told Al-Fassel.

Most targets are peaceful dissidents who fled Iran fearing persecution or execution, he added.

The Iranian regime deployed proxies across Europe to target them and other critics, illustrating what the parliamentary committee describes as a "high appetite for risk."

Operational reach

The IRGC built a broad network of teams tasked with pursuing opponents abroad, Iranian affairs expert Sheyar Turko said.

Cells operate under the cover of companies, student or other visas, or by exploiting immigration status.

They often coordinate with hackers and criminal gangs to track, kidnap, or assassinate opponents, he told Al-Fassel.

The operations proved both deadly and effective. Between 2015 and 2019, Iran killed four dissidents in the Netherlands and Türkiye, including one British-Iranian national, according to the parliamentary report.

Iranian intelligence services use "lure and forced repatriation" operations, tricking dissidents into traveling to third countries where Tehran's operatives conduct kidnapping operations more easily, the committee found.

British law enforcement disrupted multiple Iranian operations, including a 2023 arrest of a suspect conducting "hostile reconnaissance" at the London headquarters of Iran International television.

"The IRGC deployed these cells in countries where it has no branches, particularly in European nations hosting thousands of regime opponents," Turko said.

"They operate under Tehran's command and carry out orders regardless of the consequences," he added.

The cells maintain both direct and legitimate funding for operational security, according to Turko.

Threat to sovereignty

Tehran does not view its UK operations as attacks on Britain but as internal security measures.

It treats the UK as "collateral" when targeting perceived enemies of the regime, the committee reported.

This stance has forced British security services to expand protective measures for numerous UK-based individuals now under threat assessment and receiving security advice.

The campaign created a climate of fear in the Iranian diaspora, with potential targets reducing social contact and moderating criticism of Tehran, the committee found.

"Assassinations and kidnappings are a direct threat to British national security," Turko said.

"The IRGC should be designated as a terrorist group based on the activities of its cells deployed throughout Europe."