UK police warn of domestic threats from Iran

five schemes by Iran to assassinate, kidnap or intimidate people in the UK had been stopped already in 2023 (AFP)
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Updated 17 February 2023
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UK police warn of domestic threats from Iran

  • 5 plots on British soil identified so far in 2023 following 10 last year

London: Police in the UK say Iran is suspected of as many as 15 plots against dissidents on British soil since January 2022.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes said five schemes by Iran to assassinate, kidnap or intimidate people in the UK had been stopped already in 2023.

Ken McCallum, director general of MI5, said in November that British intelligence had identified 10 such plots last year.

McCallum’s revelation came after armed police were stationed outside the offices of London-based Iran International, a Persian-language news organization critical of the regime in Tehran.

Two journalists at Iran International received “credible” threats against them, with McCallum saying Tehran’s intelligence agencies were “aggressive” toward dissidents in the UK.


EU leaders agree on €90bn loan to Ukraine

Updated 58 min 58 sec ago
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EU leaders agree on €90bn loan to Ukraine

BRUSSELS: European Union leaders agreed on Friday to provide a massive interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years, EU Council President Antonio Costa said.
“We have a deal. Decision to provide €90 billion  of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered,” Costa said in a post on social media, without providing details about how the money would be raised.
The EU leaders worked deep into Thursday night to reassure Belgium that they would provide guarantees to protect it from Russian retaliation if it backed the loan for Ukraine.