Iran could recruit sleeper agents in Britain 'who are motivated to kill Jews' to carry out attacks, experts warn

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:18, 3 June 2026 | Updated: 20:18, 3 June 2026 Iran could recruit sleeper agents in Britain who are 'motivated to kill Jews' to carry out terror attacks, experts have warned. The UK national threat level was raised from 'substantial' to 'severe', meaning an attack is now 'highly likely' within the next six months, after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, on April 29.  Britain could be under threat from mass killings similar to the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing to 'stoke fear' amongst Jewish communities. Alexander Greenberg, an Iran expert at the Jerusalem Institute for Security and Strategy, said: 'The raised terror alert doesn't say a lot about the UK's capacity to prevent attacks despite knowing that attacks could be imminent. 'Hostility against Jews or Israel is hardwired into the logic of the Iranian regime. Mass casualty attacks are definitely likely. 'The regime prefers these types of attacks, they're better for Iran as they're easier to recruit for (because they don't need) professionals. And if they're caught it's easier (to deny responsibility). 'Iran are always active on social media looking to recruit proxies who are against Jews or Israel… What they want to find is people who want to kill Jews. 'They don't need someone to shout "long live Iran" while stabbing someone. The goal of committing terror attacks is to stoke fear… A member of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) shows off his AK47 during an annual rally to mark Quds Day in April 2024 Pictured is Mojtaba Khamenei, who became the Islamic Republic's new supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed by US strikes at the start of the Iran war 'The logic is that if Jews feel threatened, they will close synagogues, schools, community centres, to make Jews less socially active. 'A person doesn't need to be well-versed on Iran or Islam but they must be motivated to kill Jews and make money (doing it). 'But it's a combination between ideology and readiness to do something. They must have the impetus to kill Jews.' Mr Greenberg warned that Iran could supply 'lone wolf' terrorists with 'weapons, money and instructions' on how to carry out mass killings, such as bombings, without knowledge of the plans so that the regime can deny involvement. He also said Britain is at risk of regime sympathisers acting 'autonomously' to carry out attacks against Jews in the name of Iran. 'The goal is for it to be unprovable that Iran has backed attacks carried out by proxies or Iran-affiliated groups, who you may find have ties with Iranian intelligence,' the expert said. 'If something is carried out in the backdrop of the war, Iran could be implicated but it could be difficult to prove. Their modus operandi is to never delve into the operational details of an attack.' Mr Greenberg's warning comes amid claims that Iran is infiltrating state-funded institutions to 'indoctrinate children' and that IRGC members are delivering 'death to Israel' speeches in London mosques.  Dr Charlotte Littlewood, UK researcher for the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, said the regime is spreading anti-semitic beliefs at grassroots levels to 'build the foundations' for violence against Jews in Britain. She told the Mail: 'Iran's anti-semitism in Britain operates on two levels simultaneously.  'At the bottom, decades of patient infrastructure-building: IRGC commanders preaching "Death to Israel" in west London mosques, children singing about the obliteration of world Jewry, academic infiltration, Al Quds Day marches and Lego videos designed to radicalise teenagers through their phones.  'At the top, a state that MI5 says has been behind over 20 potentially lethal plots since 2022 - and which counter-terrorism police believe is now paying criminal proxies to target synagogues and Jewish people on British streets.  'This is a comprehensive, state-directed operation: ideology manufactured at the grassroots level, violence commissioned from above.  'Britain has allowed the foundations to build what makes the violence now so easy to command.' MI5 raised the UK's terror threat level to 'severe' after a Somali-born British national allegedly stabbed two Jewish men in Golders Green in April. It means an attack is 'highly likely' within the next six months. IRGC soldiers wearing balaclavas stand guard in Tehran during a Quds Day rally in April 2022 Essa Suleiman, 45, appeared in court on May 1 charged with the attempted murder of the two men, as well as trying to kill his friend of 20 years at an address in Southwark earlier the same day on April 29. The Home Office said previously that the increase comes following the incident but that 'it is not solely a result of the attack'. 'The terrorist threat level in the UK has been rising for some time, driven by an increase in the broader Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the UK,' it said. 'While the UK national threat level set independently by JTAC (MI5's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre) reflects the terrorist threat in the UK, it comes against a backdrop of increased state-linked physical threats which is encouraging acts of violence, including against the Jewish community.' Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said at the time: 'The national threat level has increased to severe, which means a terrorist attack is considered highly likely. 'I know this will be a source of concern to many, particularly amongst our Jewish community, who have suffered so much.' She added: 'As the threat level rises, I urge everyone to be vigilant as they go about their daily lives, and report any concerns they have to the police. 'And I can assure everyone that our world-class security services and the police are working day and night to keep our country safe.' IRGC soldiers marching in a parade in Tehran, the Iranian capital, in January 2025 In the aftermath of the Golders Green attack the UK's head of counter-terrorism policing, Laurence Taylor, said: 'We are seeing an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions in the UK.'  However the authorities have not said the attack in Golders Green was orchestrated by Iran. Synagogues and Jewish businesses have become targets for arson attacks in recent months, with the pro-Iran group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (HAYI) claiming responsibility for a number of them. After arsonists launched a 'firebomb' at a synagogue in northwest London in April, counter-terror police said they had begun investigating whether Iranian proxies were behind these attacks. Following the incident, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said: 'I have spoken at length of the Iranian regime's routine uses of criminal proxies. 'We are considering whether this tactic is being used here in London - recruiting violence as a service.' She said individuals carrying out these crimes often have no allegiance to the cause and are 'taking quick cash for their crimes'. A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism told the Daily Mail: 'Everyone knows that the Iranian regime is hellbent on killing Jews, as well as any of its own people who oppose the theocracy - everyone, that is, except our own Government, who haven't banned the IRGC terror group or expelled the Iranian ambassador.  'British Jews know they are being targeted, and, while we hope and pray for the best, further attacks will surprise no one.  'The authorities are now scrambling to protect the Jewish community, but they're still not confronting the actual threat.  'As long as they fail to address Islamist extremism and Iranian terror networks, things won't change.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We take the threat posed by Iran incredibly seriously, and our first priority is protecting British interests and lives.  'We have introduced a comprehensive set of additional measures aimed at countering threats posed by the Iranian regime, including sanctioning the IRGC in its entirety, as well as more than 550 Iranian individuals and entities.  'This is in addition to providing record levels of funding for our intelligence agencies to counter the Iranian threat. 'Legislation will be fast-tracked in the coming weeks to introduce new proscription-like powers to clamp down on individuals and groups carrying out hostile activity for foreign states, including those who act as their proxies.' The Met Police were approached for further comment.   Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.