A security expert has revealed the three threats Iran could pose to the UK, as war in the Middle East continues and an Iran-aligned terror group claims responsibility for a north London attack
Iran has three aims for the UK after a Tehran-aligned terror group claimed responsibility for an arson attack on Jewish charity-owned ambulances, an expert has claimed.
Four Hatzola ambulances were set on fire in the early hours of Monday morning in Golders Green. Counter-terror police have arrested two men, aged 45 and 47, on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. Police also said it was investigating an online claim by a terror group taking responsibility for the horror incident. Iran-aligned group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia has claimed responsibly for the attack, and posted footage of the explosions and Google Maps images of the ambulances.
Counter-terror police are leading the investigation, but so far it is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime rather than a terror attack.
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The Iranian regime has three aims with the UK, according to security expert Professor Anthony Glees, as Tehran ramps up their threats against the West. He explained why the Iranian regime could look to target the British Jewish community.
He told the Mirror: “Iran has three aims: first to try to ensure that the UK Government is frightened off any possible deeper intervention in the current war against Iran, second to intimidate British Jews and use terror acts against them this to galvanise their own people in Iran and in the wider Middle East. And thirdly to scope out our land, see where we are vulnerable and where we can be readily attacked.”
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said it was “too early” to attribute the attack to Iran but added that “rapid growth in recent years of Iranian state threats is grave”. Glees said that there was currently a “discussion right now as to whether Iran can hit us with intercontinental ballistic missiles”.
The Israel Defence Forces has claimed Iran has missiles capable of reaching major European cities like London, Berlin and Paris. This comes after Iran launched two ballistic missiles at the joint UK-US Diego Garcia military base last Friday, but neither hit the island. It was the first time Iran had launched long-range missile during this conflict.
The Diego Garcia base is around 3,800km from Tehran and London is around 4,400km away from the Iranian capital. The Israel Defence Forces said: “The Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat. Now, with missiles that can reach London, Paris or Berlin.”
Professor Glees added: “We await as a matter of great urgency the official view on this from our Military Intelligence experts and MI6 whose job it is to assess such things. However, Iran can attack us in other ways, not just by hitting our economy but by hitting our critical national infrastructure. A small drone targeted, for example, at our Faslane Nuclear Submarine base, could do massive damage.”
“By doing these things, the IRGC can demonstrate it has both the intention and the capability to take the fight to the UK and Europe (even though we and other Europeans are not directly and offensively involved).”
Glees added that the threat from, Iran “was serious enough before the US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February and we must expect the threat to remain extremely serious now that the war in the Middle East has broadened”.
