Iran is recruiting British Muslims who travel on pilgrimages to the Middle East to spy on Jews and dissidents in the UK, the Daily Mail said over the weekend in a report confirmed by Israeli and British officials.

According to the report, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operatives recruit British Shias visiting religious sites in Iran and Iraq.

Once they are enlisted for the task, the Shias are instructed to spy on and gather information about prominent British Jews or target sites such as shuls. Others are told to spy on UK-based Iranian dissidents.

An Israeli official added that since October 7th, Israel has shared a record number of warnings with the UK about potential attacks by Iranians or their proxies.

Experts say that some Iranians studying at UK universities as international students on state scholarships are also spies.

According to the UK’s M15 Security Service and counter-terror police, Iran has tried to kill or harm at least 15 British-based Iranian dissidents since the beginning of 2022.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)