MI5 Warns of Iranian Threats
PHOTO CAPTION: A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer sits at RAF Fairford, England, on July 15, 2025. In October 2026, the Pentagon withdrew American bombers from the base following a suspected security threat linked by British officials to Iran. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Robert M. Trujillo.
Britain's top domestic intelligence official warned Tuesday that Iran is expanding its efforts to target military installations, revealing that a suspected Iranian operation near a British air base used by American bombers was not an isolated case.
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum delivered the warning October 13, just one day after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government believes Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was almost certainly directing the suspected operation near RAF Fairford.
The base has been used by U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers conducting missions against Iran.
Following the September security incident, the Pentagon withdrew its bombers from the installation amid intelligence warnings of a possible Iranian drone attack.
McCallum said Iranian operations have expanded beyond their traditional targets, which included political dissidents, Iranian opposition media and Jewish communities.
"The other major shift this year has been Iranian ambitions to come at harder targets, like military sites," McCallum said.
Speaking with reporters after his annual intelligence briefing, he addressed the suspected operation at RAF Fairford.
"The RAF Fairford incident ... is not unique," McCallum said.
He explained that intelligence services had encountered other examples of similar threats in Britain and internationally, particularly in the Middle East.
The warning comes after a dramatic security operation near RAF Fairford on September 27.
British police responded to reports of three suspicious vans near the base, triggering evacuations of nearby residents and the deployment of counterterrorism officers and bomb-disposal teams.
Investigators recovered gasoline from the vans but reported finding no explosives.
Seven men were arrested over the course of the investigation. All were subsequently released on bail, and no charges have been announced.
Despite those uncertainties, British officials increasingly believe the incident involved Iranian direction.
On October 12, Prime Minister Burnham told Parliament that the suspected operation was highly likely to have been coordinated from Iran and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran has denied involvement and challenged Britain to produce evidence supporting the accusation.
The suspected threat also prompted a significant American military response.
U.S. officials received intelligence suggesting a possible attack involving drones against RAF Fairford, where approximately a dozen B-1 bombers had been stationed.
The aircraft had supported American operations against Iran during the ongoing conflict.
By October 4, the Pentagon confirmed that all U.S. bombers deployed to the British installation had returned to their home stations in the United States.
American officials described the movement as a precautionary response to threats against personnel and aircraft.
The redeployment did not establish that an attack was imminent or that the suspects arrested near the base possessed operational drones or explosives.
McCallum's latest warning suggests the broader concern extends beyond a single airfield.
According to MI5, operations connected to Iran have led to more than 50 arrests in Britain over the past 12 months.
Those investigations have involved several different alleged threats, including intimidation, arson, sabotage and suspected terrorism.
The intelligence chief cautioned that Iranian networks operating in Britain have generally relied on relatively unsophisticated criminal intermediaries.
He nevertheless warned against underestimating the possibility of more complex operations, noting the Revolutionary Guard's experience with drones and other weapons closer to Iran.
British authorities are continuing their investigation into the RAF Fairford incident, while the United Kingdom and allied governments have announced additional measures targeting Iranian-linked hostile activity.
For American forces, the concern is no longer limited to military installations in the Middle East.
A base in Britain that supported U.S. bombing operations became the center of a major security investigation, American bombers were withdrawn, and Britain's intelligence service is now publicly warning that suspected threats against military facilities extend well beyond that one incident.
(Source: OAF Nation)
