Why should your average British person care about Iran?

The Islamic Republic of Iran, to many in the West, particularly in the UK, is seen as Israel’s issue. As America’s issue. As a Middle Eastern issue. With Iran being thousands of miles away, it is a country so far that Brits are so ignorant to think that they wouldn’t dare attack us. While in the UK we don’t necessarily see ballistic missiles and cluster bombs sent via the IRGC, it does not mean we aren’t under attack. The truth is, the Iranian Regime is already active in Britain; they are embedded in our communities, they are on our doorsteps. British citizens have already been affected; our Jewish community is being surveilled and is under attack, and more importantly, Britain’s security is already threatened. The days when we questioned whether Iran poses a threat to Britain are long gone. The question we must ask ourselves now is why we are still pretending it doesn’t exist. Our Government is silent, and the general public is totally unaware. 

Britain has misunderstood Iran:

Time and time again, when we assess Iran through a security lens, we often refer to its ability to create nuclear weapons; we talk about it almost as if nuclear weapons, and even Iran’s already-existing missiles and rockets, are its only weapons of war. We assume the situation with Iran is isolated. After all, we only typically hear threats towards Israel and the US. But the reality is, Iran operates on a global scale. Along with its strong, cult-like, revolutionary language, it exports such ideologies abroad and even into Europe. 

If we assess Israel’s security situation, whereby the state faces Islamist-inspired terror on almost every front, we see the common denominator. Whether it’s Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, or militias in Iraq and Syria, all of them are offspring of the Iranian Regime. Iran works with its proxies in such collaborative ways that each group can come together and attack Israel at its weakest points. The world saw that type of horror unfold on October 7th 2023. While Hamas delivered catastrophic blows to Israel, Hezbollah were eyeing coordinated attacks into Northern Israel. 

But the proxies extend further than the Middle East, with new groups emerging in Europe like Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya – The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand targeting Brits in London. Iran is more than just missiles and nuclear threats. The regime uses intimidation; it carries out espionage on British soil. Our politicians in Westminster continue to treat Iran more as a diplomatic challenge, rather than as a security risk, with the Green Party even submitting a motion for their conference this year, calling for the lifting of Iranian sanctions and a change in approach, leaning towards diplomacy. 

Not the future, but the present: The Iranian Regime is already in Britain

If we learn one lesson from Israel, it’s that we must stop being cowardly on the defensive; Britain should be on high alert, and the Government should act and protect us before it’s too late. How long will it be until Europe experiences its own devastating, blood-soaked October 7th-style massacre? This is not an exaggeration.

In October 2025, Ken McCallum at MI5 declared that British security forces tracked more than twenty Iran-backed terror plots in the previous year. Those predominantly targeted on British soil have included Iranian dissidents, figures who oppose the regime, Israelis, the Jewish community, sectors of the Government, and even journalists. Let’s get this straight. This is an attack on our freedoms, our democracy, our way of life, and our values.  

The Iranian Regime is no friend of Britain and must be taken........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)