Iran is stepping up its attempts to attack better-protected sites, including military targets in Britain, while Russia is escalating its hybrid warfare against Ukraine's allies. This was stated by the Director General of the British domestic intelligence service MI5 Ken McCallum, quoted by Reuters, reports News.bg.
In his annual speech on threats to Britain, McCallum pointed out that the most serious concern related to the misuse of artificial intelligence is the possibility of terrorists developing biological weapons or creating new, previously unknown pathogens.
According to him, threats from states have increased fourfold over the past 10 years. As a result, British intelligence is now devoting more resources to countering them than during the Cold War.
McCallum noted that this year has seen a significant shift in Iran's ambitions, which is increasingly targeting better-protected targets, including military sites. He stressed that the alleged plot against the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford air base was not an isolated incident.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said it was highly likely that Tehran was behind the alleged plot against the base used by US bombers to strike Iran. The incident raised serious security concerns and led to the withdrawal of US aircraft from the site on the orders of President Donald Trump.
McCallum identified Russia as the leading threat to Britain's security. According to him, Moscow is using tactics that approach a conventional military conflict, citing the incident with a drone at Leipzig airport as an example.
According to him, Russia's attempts to destabilize other European countries are not accidental, especially against the backdrop of its minimal military progress in Ukraine, achieved with heavy losses.