A parliamentary report in the UK is set to warn that Iran remains one of the gravest state-based threats to British security, according to The Telegraph, while a separate investigation in Italy has uncovered a vast influence network supporting the Islamic Republic.
“The Telegraph understands the findings will conclude that Iran remains one of the biggest state-based threats to the UK, in the same bracket as China and Russia,” the article said ahead of the release of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report, based on classified intelligence and interviews with British agencies.
Ken McCallum, the director-general of British intelligence service MI5, last year revealed the extent of Iranian threats on UK soil.
“Since January 2022, with police partners, we have responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents," he said.
He warned that “Iranian state actors make extensive use of criminals as proxies—from international drug traffickers to low-level crooks.”
The upcoming report, signed off by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will also detail cyber attacks against UK companies and threats against journalists. “Those familiar with the report’s contents expect it to be a wake-up call for ministers about the persistent threat of Iran and its ability to act within the UK,” the Telegraph added.
‘Surveillance and soft power’ in Italy
Meanwhile, Italy’s Linkiesta published the findings of a months-long investigation into the Islamic Republic's influence network.
“There is a silent Iran that runs through the meshes of Italian society, not the one in war chronicles or official press releases, but an Iran that acts under the radar," the outlet wrote.
They called the Cultural Center of the Iranian Embassy in Rome "an operational hub that coordinates events, conferences and exhibitions with specific political purposes: building consensus around the regime and promoting an image of Iran as a spiritual, anti-imperialist and tolerant state".
The investigation found that since 2009, Iranian investments in academic programs across Italy have exceeded one million euros. These include joint centers and exchange agreements with universities in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Turin.
Iranian religious centers in Rome and Milan have hosted events commemorating Hezbollah leaders and promoting Tehran’s political ideology.
Testimonies from Iranian dissidents in Italy have also revealed the ongoing targeting of Iranians abroad. One woman said: “After some protests in Rome, I was followed for days and my family members in Iran were subjected to house searches. They begged me to stop supporting the movements against the regime."
Another activist said: “Once, during a sit-in, an official from the Iranian embassy approached us and said: ‘We are monitoring you, and your loved ones back home will cry."
According to Linkiesta, a dedicated unit of 15 to 20 operatives inside the Iranian embassy in Rome oversees three areas: cyber surveillance, field monitoring, and intelligence reporting to Tehran. The unit works closely with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guard’s foreign branches.
“It’s a worrying disappearance, and we are in contact with the family,” Minister Laurent Saint-Martin, who oversees French nationals overseas, told RTL radio.
Saint-Martin stopped short of confirming whether the Iranian authorities were involved in the disappearance, but added: “It is worrying because Iran has a deliberate policy of taking Western hostages.”
The man, who also holds German nationality, has not been identified publicly.
French media reported on Sunday that he was an 18-year-old who had been on a solo cycling trip in the region and went missing a few days after Israeli airstrikes targeted Iranian sites in mid-June.
AFP reported that the French man has not contacted his family since June 16, citing a French diplomatic source.“We are in contact with the family about this,” the source was quoted as saying.
The source described the case as “worrying," and advised French nationals against travelling to Iran due to Tehran’s “deliberate policy of taking Westerners hostage.”
The missing person alert was first posted on social media by friends seeking help with locating the tourist.
While French authorities have not named the individual, the French daily Le Figaro identified the missing person as Lennart Monterlos, 18, citing a missing person alert posted on Instagram.
According to Le Figaro, Monterlos describes himself on Instagram as passionate about climbing and cycling. In June 2024, he announced plans for “a one-year cycling trip across Eurasia,” calling it a “dream” he hoped to fulfill before starting university.
His planned route spanned “400 days, 35,000 km,” across “35 countries.”
His last public location update, posted on the travel app Polarsteps, showed him in Shiraz, Iran, on June 3, with a planned stop in Kashan. The account has not been updated since.
Monterlos's disappearance follows recent developments in the case of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens arrested in Iran in 2022, who were recently notified of charges punishable by death—including espionage for Israel— after which they were moved to an undisclosed location.
Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported a phone call between French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, during which they discussed consular affairs and regional developments.
IRNA’s report did not specify whether the two diplomats discussed the cases of Lennart Monterlos, Cécile Kohler, or Jacques Paris. However, the term "consular affairs" usually refers to the cases of citizens detained in the two countries.
