Iran is smuggling covert agents through the English Channel: "We have people waiting for instructions"

Iran is exploiting illegal migration routes to infiltrate covert agents into the UK via the English Channel, the British newspaper "The Daily Telegraph" revealed on Friday. According to the report, UK immigration authorities have captured individuals linked to Tehran's intelligence services who were attempting to enter the country on small boats.

Human smugglers in Europe told the newspaper that the regime in Iran helped migrants in Calais, France, reach the UK in exchange for a "future favor" they would be required to perform once settled in England. To curb this, the British Home Office is using drones and smart observation towers equipped with artificial intelligence to track crossing vessels.

According to official sources in Tehran, these smuggling networks are effectively managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and some human trafficking routes between the Middle East and Europe are under their full control. The suspects caught on the small boats are likely linked to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The exposure comes shortly after Iran threatened to attack a British Air Force base following a decision to extend the permit for American use of it.

Iranian sources noted that the smuggling networks are operated by "Unit 700," the logistics arm of the Quds Force, the IRGC's foreign clandestine operations brigade, which has been linked to the supply of weapons and funding to Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. An Iranian source said:

"Do not forget that our armed forces have influence and manage smuggling routes if they want to. Right now we have people right there in London — revolutionary people who are waiting for us to tell them what to do. We have not done so yet, but we could easily make London unsafe for you if we wanted to. These smuggling routes are more important and useful than missiles for us — we do not need a missile to hit London, it is easier than that."

However, the number of threats arriving via small boats pales in comparison to the number of people identified with the IRGC who enter the UK on legal flights from Europe. Officials noted to the "Telegraph" that the radicalization and activation of the Iranian diaspora in London and the use of proxies in the UK pose a greater national security risk than the small boats, which are often an expensive and unreliable method.

Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, warned in October that the intelligence agency had tracked "more than 20 potential lethal plots under Iranian sponsorship" during the 12 months prior. He also warned that Iran is "making extensive use of criminals," including drug traffickers, as proxies to carry out missions for Tehran in the UK.