At least 10 such schemes have been discovered so far this year, according to the chief of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5, and Iran wants to ‘abduct or kill’ people living in the UK who it considers to be ‘enemies of the government’. In a speech at the agency’s Thames House headquarters, director general Ken McCallum said that Iran ‘projects threat to the UK directly, through its aggressive intelligence agencies’.
At its most extreme, this ‘includes intentions to abduct or even assassinate British or UK-based persons considered as adversaries of the government,’ he added. ‘ At least ten of these possible dangers have been seen since January alone. In order to stop this utterly reprehensible action, we collaborate quickly with local and foreign partners ‘, he continued.
James Cleverly, the British Foreign Secretary, summoned Iran’s top diplomat to London last week, alleging that Tehran was putting the lives of journalists working in the UK in danger. The action took place at the same time that wrestler Melika Balali, 22, an Iranian-born woman now residing in Scotland, was placed under police protection following claims that she, too, had received death threats.
Since anti-regime demonstrations started after Mahsa Amini was killed in mid-September for allegedly breaking strict dress codes for women, there have allegedly been more threats made against people living outside of Iran. The imprisonment of UK citizens in Iran has also caused a rift between Tehran and London in recent years. The most well-known case involved Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a dual citizen of the UK and Iran, who was freed in March after serving six years in a Tehran prison.
Post Your Comments