Ken McCallum, the head of the United Kingdom’s domestic intelligence agency (MI5), announced that the country faces an increasing threat from hostile states such as Russia, China, and Iran’s regime. He said that the agency has tracked more than 20 potentially deadly plots supported by the Iranian regime.
On Thursday, October 16, McCallum stated that the number of individuals under investigation for activities related to state threats has increased by 35%, and hostile nations are increasingly resorting to brutal and violent methods usually associated with terrorists.
He said that his agency had disrupted a stream of hostile espionage operations from Russia and had tracked more than 20 potentially deadly plots backed by Iran’s regime.
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Tehran’s transnational role in silencing dissidents
McCallum said that Tehran is actively attempting to silence its critics across the globe, citing examples such as Australia exposing Iran’s regime involvement in antisemitic plots and Dutch authorities reporting the foiling of a failed assassination attempt.
He also noted that the terrorist threat to the UK remains very high, stating that MI5 and British police have foiled 19 late-stage attack plots since the beginning of 2020.
In his annual speech at MI5 headquarters in London, McCallum said that in 2025 the agency is facing an unprecedented scale and variety of threats from both terrorists and hostile state actors.
The UK has repeatedly spoken of hostile activities that it attributes to Russia, Iran’s regime, and China—allegations that all three countries have denied.
Earlier this year, six Bulgarian nationals were sentenced to prison for spying on behalf of Russia.
Additionally, five men were convicted of arson attacks on Ukraine-related businesses in London—an act that British authorities said was ordered by Russia’s Wagner mercenary group.
McCallum emphasized, that they will continue to trace the chains of command to those who give the orders—those who think they are anonymous and untraceable behind their screens.
