Drones and AI Used to Stop Iranian Agents Smuggling into Britain

JAKARTA - Drones and artificial intelligence (AI) are used to foil Iranian spies disguised as migrants arriving in Britain via a human smuggling route controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to a report.

The British Home Office is using the surveillance tower equipped with the technology in an effort to prevent disguised Iranians from entering the country.

Some of those intercepted were suspected of having ties to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

Since migrants began crossing the English Channel into the UK in significant numbers in 2018, more than 30,000 Iranians have arrived.

"Iranian-run human smuggling networks are responsible for transporting individuals associated with the regime across Europe and into the UK," Tehran officials told The Telegraph.

Several routes connecting the Middle East and the English Channel are "owned" by the IRGC, they said.

An Iranian official said that putting agents into Britain was part of a strategy aimed at potentially destabilizing the country.

"Right now we have people in London, revolutionary people who care about the world and the lives of children - they are waiting for us to tell them what to do," the official told The Telegraph, quoted by The National (28/7).

"We haven't done that yet, but we can easily make London unsafe for you if we want to. This smuggling route is more important and useful than a missile for us - we don't need a missile to target London, it's easier than that," he said.

Meanwhile, Director of the Civil Security and Safety Unit at the University of Leicester Business School, Dr. Simon Bennett, said that given that the UK had recently banned the IRGC, "it is not surprising that Iran is hostile to the UK and its interests and territory".

"The British public can be reassured that Iran and its proxies, including the regime's influential supporters living in the UK, are being watched," he said.

Meanwhile, Hamish Falconer, a former British Middle East minister who is now Minister for European Relations, said it was no surprise that Iran was targeting the UK.

"I was Middle East minister for two years and dealt with Iranian representatives for some time, so I'm not too surprised," he told the BBC.

A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior said: "Our main priority is national security. There are strict security checks for the arrival of small boats.

"Those identified as a threat will be detained immediately and we will make every effort to move them as soon as possible," he continued.

"In addition to this strict process, we have accelerated legislative changes to ban support for the IRGC, equipping the police and intelligence services with more authority to disrupt those working on behalf of the IRGC, and making it easier to prosecute them," he said.

It is known that the IRGC was recently designated as a threat to the UK state under the new anti-terrorism authority.

Also designated was Harakat Ashab Al Yamin Al Islamiyya, which translates as the Right Hand Islamic Movement, a group linked to the IRGC that has claimed responsibility for attacks on Jewish and Iranian opposition targets in Britain and Europe.

Under Britain's National Security (State Threat) Act, anyone who operates for the IRGC and engages in acts of sabotage on behalf of a designated group can face a life sentence.