Iran’s regime is considered behind only Russia and China as the greatest threat to Britain’s security from a state actor among senior players in MI5 and MI6, according to Britain’s Express.
With the seizure of the British flagged Stena Impero oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, fears Tehran funded terror cells across Europe could be given the all-clear have intensified, the Express wrote on Monday.
The Daily Telegraph reported the cells are linked to Lebanese Hezbollah which is active in the Syrian Civil War.
It has been reported counter-terrorism police disrupted a cell in 2015 that was stockpiling tonnes of explosives.
Sources believe the cell was prepared to cause “a lot of damage” with “proper organised terrorism”.
An intelligence source said: “Iran uses proxies and they have control of a network of individuals linked to Hezbollah.
“Iran has Hezbollah operatives in position to carry out a terrorist attack in the event of a conflict. That is the nature of the domestic threat Iran poses to the UK.”
Iran’s regime has been blamed for cyberattacks in the UK, one on Members of Parliament in 2017 and another on Post Office, local government and private sector emails at the end of last year.
The UK Department of Transport have stated that the Steno Impero was in Omani waters when it was seized before being re-routed by the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and produced naval charts to support this claim.
The British Government described the incident, a response to the seizure of Panamanian flagged Grace I in Gibraltar, as “illegal” and wrote in a letter to the UN Security Council: “Current tensions are extremely concerning, and our priority is to de-escalate. We do not seek confrontation with Iran. But it is unacceptable and highly escalatory to threaten shipping going about its legitimate business through internationally recognised transit corridors.”
Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi said on Saturday: “The mullahs’ unbridled actions in the Persian Gulf for blackmail need a firm response by the international community. They should not be allowed to be emboldened. Force &firmness are the language they understand well. They must not be given the chance for further blackmail.”
The mullahs’ unbridled actions in the Persian Gulf for blackmail need a firm response by the international community. They should not be allowed to be emboldened. Force &firmness are the language they understand well. They must not be given the chance for further blackmail
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 20, 2019
The Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Adel Aljubeir tweeted last night: “Iran must realise that its acts of intercepting ships, including most recently the British ship, are completely unacceptable. The world community must take actions to deter such behaviour.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May will chair an emergency COBRA meeting at 10.30am on Monday morning in response to the crisis.