British MI5 leader warns of attacks by Iran

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The British head of domestic intelligence said Tuesday that recent attacks and attempts were part of a plot by Iran.

The most recent attempt was on Sept. 27 at the Royal Air Force Base Fairford, where seven men were arrested with a van and cans of gasoline.

"The spring saw a wave of arson and sabotage incidents targeting Jewish communities in the U.K. and other European countries," MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said. He called the attacks "sickening."

These threats show a "major shift" in "Iranian ambitions to come at harder targets like military sites," he said in a speech about threats to Britain and its allies.

McCallum said the threat is not unique and that there have "been other examples" of similar threats at military posts "not just in the U.K. but around the world -- most particularly in Iran's own region."

The speech was part of his annual address on security threats. He added that Russia "remains aggressor No. 1" against Britain and its allies.

Moscow's reliance on criminals or "naïve volunteers" are not the "actions of a great power with the strategic upper hand," McCallum said.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham of Britain told Parliament on Monday, "We will not tolerate these threats on our soil.

"We will crack down on Iran's use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams, and we will bring further sanctions to restrict the capacity of Iran and the [Iranian military] to do us harm," Burnham said.

The British government identified and sanctioned two Iranians that it said were involved in coordinating overseas attacks: Ruhollah Bazghandi, the Iranian military's counterespionage chief; and Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Jakki, a facilitator linked to an Iranian criminal network that targeted Iranian dissident, The New York Times reported.

McCallum also reported that MI5 has formed a new center focused on the threats created by advances in artificial intelligence, including the potential spread of chemical or biological weapons, The Washington Post reported.

"Many terrorists would dearly love to have some kind of capability with bio, chem or radiological weaponry," McCallum said. He added that there is a risk that "AI could generate novel pathogens not previously seen."

Britain has made more than 50 arrests in the past year in "Iran-linked operations," McCallum said.

Iran has denied any connection to plots on British soil.