Iran ‘smuggling agents into UK disguised as Channel migrants using people smugglers’

IRAN has been accused of sending suspected covert operatives across the English Channel into Britain on migrant boats. People believed to have links to Tehran’s intelligence agencies were intercepted by UK authorities as they tried to enter the country in small boats. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – Some human trafficking routes between the Middle East and the Channel were “owned” by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Credit: AFP On Thursday a dinghy carrying 165 migrants crossed the Channel Credit: PA The claims were revealed by The Telegraph, which said Iranian officials and people smugglers described how the regime uses trafficking routes to get operatives into Britain. The report said migrants living in camps around Calais were offered passage to the UK in return for carrying out a “favour” for Iran once they had settled in England. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Home Office officials are said to have stopped Iranian-linked arrivals by using drones and AI-powered surveillance towers to monitor boats crossing the Channel. Iranian officials reportedly claimed smuggling networks linked to Tehran move people across Europe and into Britain. Migrants are said to be helped to cross the Channel by Iran in return for ‘favours’ when they settle in the UK Credit: AP:Associated Press Migrants leave the beach after failing to board a small boat off the coast of Equihen-Plage, France, during an attempt to cross the English Channel taken on July 22 Credit: PA They also alleged some trafficking routes between the Middle East and the Channel are controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It comes after Iran threatened to target RAF Fairford following the Government’s decision to renew permission for the US to use the base for air strikes. Suspected Iranian operatives intercepted in small boats are believed to have links to the country’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security – which is responsible for overseas operations. The report also claimed “revolutionary people” had been placed in London through smuggling routes allegedly operated by the IRGC’s Unit 700. Most read in The Sun Unit 700 is the logistics arm of the Quds Force, the IRGC’s overseas operations division. The force has been linked to supporting Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. One Iranian official reportedly said: “At the moment we have people right there in London… they wait for us to tell them what to do. “We have not done that yet, but we can easily make London unsafe for you if we want to. “These smuggling routes are more important and useful than the missiles for us – we do not need a missile to target London, it’s easier than that.” On Thursday, a dinghy carrying 165 migrants crossed the Channel, setting a new record for the number of people arriving on a single small boat. Officials also told The Telegraph they believed far more people linked to the IRGC entered Britain legally on flights from Europe than by crossing the Channel. They warned the radicalisation of members of the Iranian diaspora and the use of proxy groups in Britain posed a greater national security threat than small boat crossings. Alicia Kearns, the Shadow Security Minister, said: “The Government needs to face facts: the IRGC is exploiting the small boats crisis to put its operatives on British streets. “We need an urgent taskforce to root out Iranian agents among those arriving and who’ve arrived on our shores, designation of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security under hostile state legislation, and emergency powers to shut down IRGC cut-outs like the Islamic Centre of England. “Tehran is openly threatening Britain and we have a Prime Minister silent on our national security – our people deserve answers, action and leadership.” The Sun has contacted the Home Office for comment.