What happened
According to Britain's domestic spy chief, Sir Ken McCallum, Iran and Russia have adopted evolving hybrid tactics, targeting various interests across the UK and Europe. McCallum stated that Russia remains the primary aggressor, while Iran has shifted its ambitions to target harder sites.
Iran has used criminal proxies to intimidate oppositionists, Israeli sites, and Jewish communities. Over 50 arrests have been made in the UK in the last year alone, with many incidents targeting Jewish communities, including arson and sabotage attacks on synagogues and other sites.
A group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including explosive device detonations at synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands, and firebombing incidents in the UK. UK authorities have sanctioned HAYI, linking it to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Russia, meanwhile, has escalated its attempts at hybrid warfare, staying below the NATO Article 5 threshold. Incidents linked to Russia include alleged airspace violations, assassination attempts, and sabotage of undersea cables. Russian links are also being investigated in connection with attacks on drone factories and defense companies in France, Germany, and Poland.
