Iran shifts focus to “harder targets, like military sites” with mounting sabotage attacks, U.K. spy chief warns

October 13, 2026 / 1:46 PM EDT / CBS News

London — Iran has made a "major shift" in its efforts to attack the United Kingdom, including going after harder targets such as military bases, the head of Britain's domestic spy agency MI5 warned Tuesday.

In his annual threat update at MI5 headquarters in London, Sir Ken McCallum outlined the growing challenges facing the country, from hostile foreign governments and terrorism to the potential misuse of AI. Iran, he said, has demonstrated that it is "keen on subcontracting its U.K. violence … using criminal proxies to try to intimidate oppositionists, Iranian media organizations, and Israeli sites."

"Sadly, much of this aggression has been aimed at British Jewish communities, with whom I want to express solidarity," he said.

"The other major shift this year has been Iranian ambitions to come at harder targets, like military sites," he added.

All of these alleged activities led to more than 50 Iran-linked arrests in the U.K. over the past year alone, McCallum said.

His comments come after a series of arson and sabotage incidents targeting Jewish communities and other sites in the U.K. and across Europe, which McCallum described as "sickening acts."

He declined…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/