Britain faces being dragged into the fallout from America’s assassination of Iran’s top military figure amid fears that tensions could escalate into war.
After Tehran vowed revenge for the killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in Iraq, experts warned Britain could now be the number-one target.
Any state or country allied to America will be seen as a legitimate target for attacks by the Iranian Quds force, whose leadership are able to operate outside the regime.
But as its oldest ally, the UK is particularly at risk – and is seen as a less threatening target than America.
Unlike the US, Britain never launches retaliatory strikes against foreign enemies, even when they murder British citizens on our streets.
A senior security source told the Mirror: “Any British target will be seen as legitimate by the Iranians. As recent events have proven, we are seen as Washington’s top ally.
“Historically we are seen in Tehran as having played a key role in the manipulation of Iran prior to the Islamic Revolution and, as a weaker and less protected partner, we may be target number one.”
Britons working or travelling in the region could be at risk, as could our military bases, oil tankers, embassies and diplomats there.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote to Boris Johnson , on holiday in the Caribbean, asking what measures had been taken to “ensure the safety of UK nationals” in the Middle East.
Dr Anicee Van Engeland, lecturer in international security at Cranfield University in Bedford, warned yesterday: “In the short term we’ll be lucky if there’s not a war by tonight.
“The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who will feel compelled to respond, operate as a paramilitary group. It’s not clear that President Hassan Rouhani will be able to have much control over their actions, particularly with Soleimani gone.”
The security source said: “The Foreign Office and Home Office and more covert offices will be working away behind the scenes to guard against an attack by Iran.”
One of the top fears will be of a cyber attack to hit our infrastructure.
John Hultquist of US cyber security firm FireEye said: “We are anticipating an elevated threat from Iranian cyber threat actors.
“We will probably see an uptick in espionage, primarily focused on government systems. We also anticipate disruptive and destructive cyber attacks against the private sphere.”
