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.