Iran's embassy in London has dismissed a new report by Britain's Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee as "biased, political and baseless", categorically rejecting the allegations and describing them as tension-raising actions contrary to diplomatic principles.

The Iranian embassy issued a statement describing the committee's latest report as driven by political motives and hostility, ANA news agency reported on July 10.

Iran's embassy said it completely rejects all allegations made in the report, calling them "unfounded, irresponsible and reflective of a broader pattern of distorting reality to tarnish Iran's legitimate regional and national interests".

The statement said the claims lack any credible evidence and contradict Iran's principled commitment to international law, sovereignty equality and peaceful coexistence.

"The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran hereby declares its strong protest and categorical rejection of the baseless allegations with political motives and hostility raised in this report," the statement said.

Iran represents the most significant physical threat to individuals in the United Kingdom, with at least 15 attempted murders or kidnappings against British nationals since early 2022, the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament reported on July 10.

The committee published a comprehensive report examining Iran's threat to UK national security, describing the Islamic Republic as posing a "wide-ranging, persistent and sophisticated threat" that should not be underestimated.

The committee found that Iranian intelligence services have demonstrated a "higher risk appetite" for conducting lethal operations compared to other state actors, with the threat now "on a broadly comparable level with Russia". The Iranian regime primarily targets dissidents, journalists and opponents living in the UK, viewing such attacks not as assaults on Britain but as "handling internal matters on UK soil".

"The Iranians are quite interesting because they present across all the different forms of threat," the Director General of MI5 told the committee. "They are there across the full spectrum of the kinds of threats we have to be concerned with."

The report revealed that Iran's intelligence services increasingly rely on organised criminal gangs to conduct hostile activities abroad, with some criminal groups having links to Russia. This approach provides Iran with deniability whilst creating "a broad pool of suspects" that adds unpredictability to the threat.

"Several militant and terrorist groups in the Middle East which have a relationship with, and to varying degrees receive support from, Iran – such as Kata’ib Hizbollah in Iraq and Al-Qaeda – have demonstrated both the capability and intent to threaten UK interests" the report said, Iran has previously denied any connection to Al-Qaeda and has actively fought the group in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria alongside the US on several occasions.

Beyond physical attacks, the committee identified Iran's nuclear programme as representing a "critical threat" to UK national security. Whilst Iran has not yet developed nuclear weapons, it maintains the capability to produce a testable device within weeks and a deliverable weapon within months, the report stated.

The committee also highlighted Iran's sophisticated cyber capabilities, describing the regime as an "aggressive cyber actor" capable of targeting critical national infrastructure. Iranian cyber groups have previously compromised UK Parliament email accounts and continue to pose significant threats to government systems and private organisations.

The report criticised the Government's approach to Iran as "short-termist" and driven by crisis management rather than long-term strategy. Committee members noted that the National Security Council had met only once to discuss Iran during the Home Secretary's 10-month tenure.

"The Iranian regime's fundamental objective is to ensure the survival and security of the Islamic Republic," the committee concluded. "This shapes – directly or indirectly – all of its actions."

The 260-page report was published on July 10 as part of the group’s enquiries into threats from Iran, which have increased in the UK following years of hostile relations between the two countries. 

Britain recently reopened its embassy in Tehran following the ceasefire of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel; however, operations between the two countries continue across multiple fronts, including through Iran's allies in Yemen.