Britain's Spy Chief Says Iran Is Increasingly Targeting Military Bases

MI5 Chief Says 50 People Were Arrested Last Year to Disrupt Iran-Led Operations.

Iran is increasing its efforts to attack sensitive military targets after a series of incidents at air bases in the UK, the head of Britain's domestic spy agency has said, even as Tehran has denied any involvement.

M15 director-general Ken McCallum said in his annual speech on Tuesday that there had been a major shift in Tehran's calculations this year, with Iran's ambitions to reach harder targets such as military sites.

List of 3 Items List 1 of 3 British Prime Minister Says RAF Base Incident 'Probably Coordinated by Iran'

British list 2 of 3 accuses Iran of plotting the air base, sanctions two Iranian citizens

List 3 of 3 Iran After blaming the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the air base incident, Iran is witnessing a "false flag" operation.

McCallum's warning came after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was "almost certainly" behind a suspected plot against Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford, a base used by US bombers to launch attacks against Iran. The incident prompted the United States to withdraw its military jets from the facility earlier this month due to security concerns.

British police have declared a major incident after three "suspicious" vans approached RAF Fairford air base in Gloucestershire on September 27. Five British men in their 20s were arrested "on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act", but all were released on bail.

Police said they found a source of gasoline in three vans linked to the suspects, but no explosives. The men were later released without charge on police bail "under strict conditions".

Two others, including a British-Iranian national, were later arrested but later released. None of these people have been charged.

Two Latvian men were arrested on Friday for trespassing at RAF Molesworth, which is used by the US military and NATO for intelligence operations. These people were also released on bail.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said on Monday that the government would sanction two Iranians for "their role in facilitating or participating in hostile activities on behalf of the Iranian regime."

One is Ruhollah Bazghandi, the head of IRGC counter-espionage operations, and the other is Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Jacki, whom the British authorities refer to as the facilitator of Iran's criminal network.

McCallum said he could not comment on the latest incident at RAF Fairford as it was an ongoing investigation, but added: "The RAF Fairford incident... is not unique. There have been other examples, not just in the UK but around the world."

British authorities have made 50 arrests over the past year to disrupt Iran-related operations, the head of Britain's spy agency said.

However, he said he doubted Iran's ability to carry out sophisticated attacks, perhaps using explosive drones, because of the limited sophistication of the agents Tehran uses in the UK.

"Given what we've seen in practice in the UK in recent years, it's nowhere near that level of capability," McCallum said.

The MI5 chief added: "Obviously in countries closer to home, the Corps has quite a depth of experience in using more conventional and hybrid technologies in a more aggressive and sophisticated way."

Tehran has denied involvement in the Fairford incident or any other allegations of malicious activity in Britain.