British or UK-based people perceived as 'enemies of the regime' were targeted, the head of MI5 says.
There have been at least 10 potential threats by Iran to kidnap or kill British or UK-based people this year.
He warned the biggest shifts his service was seeing came in threats posed by other states who were "not squeamish about the tactics they deploy".This included ambitions to kidnap or even kill British or UK-based people perceived as enemies of the regime, he said.Last week it emerged that Iranian journalists based in the UK had received warnings from the police about potential risks to their lives.
He said the country's willingness to undertake "reckless" actions had been seen across Europe in recent years. Moscow will continue to use a mixture of covert threats - like spies and cyber-attacks - as well as more open means like pressure on energy prices and disinformation to target the UK, he warned. "They will keep attacking us."But the MI5 head sounded an optimistic note on the ability of countries to make it harder for Russia's spies to operate.
"We should not be complacent," the MI5 head added. "We need to be prepared to expect Russian aggression covertly and overtly against the UK in the years to come."
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