Iran is trying to hit military sites in Britain, MI5’s chief said Tuesday. He also said a suspected plot to attack a U.S.-run military air base in September “wasn’t unique.”
The warning came from the head of Britain’s domestic spy agency, who said Tehran and Moscow are both expanding attacks against the United Kingdom. His remarks widen a security picture that British officials had previously tied to individual incidents, and they suggest the threat reaches beyond those separate cases.
The September Plot
The suspected plot targeted a U.S.-run military air base. The MI5 chief’s description of it as “not unique” signals that British intelligence views it as part of a wider pattern, not an isolated event. The article doesn’t name the base beyond that description, and the source material offers no further detail about who was involved or how authorities uncovered the plot.
Two State Actors
The MI5 chief named Iran and Russia together, saying both are expanding their attacks on the U.K. That places the two governments in the same category of threat to British security, according to the agency’s assessment. The article doesn’t specify what form those attacks have taken beyond the targeting of military sites, and it provides no figures for the number of incidents.
What’s Missing
The source material is thin. It names no witnesses and offers no quotes beyond the “not unique” characterization. There’s no response from Tehran or Moscow, either. It also says nothing about the U.S. role in operating the targeted base, any retaliatory steps by London, or the diplomatic fallout. Those gaps matter: until Iranian and Russian officials respond, and British authorities release evidence, the claims rest on the intelligence chief’s word alone.
Haaretz reported the warning on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.