Iran already carrying out ‘wholly unacceptable' actions in UK, Reynolds warns
Jonathan Reynolds said Iranian activity in the UK is already substantial and it would be 'naive' to think it will not escalate.
The Business Secretary said 'not a week goes by' without Iran targeting cyber attacks on the UK's critical national infrastructure.
Both MI5 and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have warned about Iran's activities.
The head of MI5, Ken McCallum, said in October that authorities had stopped 20 state-backed plots hatched by Iran in the UK since 2022.
He warned of an 'unprecedented pace and scale' of plots posing 'potentially lethal threats' to British citizens and UK residents.
The NCSC has warned Iran 'is developing its cyber capabilities and is willing to target the UK to fulfil its disruptive and destructive objectives'.
Mr Reynolds told Sky News the risk from Iran in the UK is 'not hypothetical'.
He said: 'There is not a week goes by without some sort of Iranian cyber attack on a key part of the UK's critical national infrastructure. There is Iranian activity on the streets of the UK, which is wholly unacceptable.
'It's already at a significant level. I think it would be naive to say that that wouldn't potentially increase.
The number of state threat investigations run by MI5 has jumped by 48% in the last year.
Countries like Iran use proxies to carry out lethal plots on UK soil – we must act.
Those carrying out activity for Iran in the UK must declare it or risk facing up to 5 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/sLeDCTDoJL
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) March 6, 2025
'But again, there's a choice here for Iran: Do they want to continue being an agent of instability in the region and the wider world? Where has that got them? Where has it got the Iranian people?
'There's a better course of action for Iran to take here, and I think they should consider that.'
Iran was the first foreign power to be listed on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme, aimed at protecting the UK from malign foreign influence.
It means anyone who is directed by Iran to carry out activities in the UK must declare it or face five years in prison.
The scheme is due to come into force in July.
The Home Office will also introduce new laws that will allow the UK to proscribe state-based groups such as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In the latest sign of Iran's actions against the UK, it emerged on Saturday that authorities in Cyprus have arrested a Briton alleged to have been carrying out surveillance of the RAF Akrotiri base on the island.
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