Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has confronted Iran’s foreign minister in New York, saying the United Kingdom will not accept “intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil” as officials grapple with intelligence pointing to Iranian involvement in attacks on British Jewish communities and a suspected state-linked cyber operation.
Direct talks at the UN
The face-to-face exchange took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. According to the Foreign Office, Miliband raised the UK’s “unwavering resolve to combat threats from Iranian-linked groups in UK soil, including attacks on the British Jewish community” and discussed the wider war in the Middle East and the case of a detained British couple in Iran. There was no immediate comment from Iran’s delegation.
"not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil"
British intelligence sources have been reviewing the extent of Iran’s role in a number of incidents earlier this year. The BBC understands that while intelligence chiefs initially kept multiple possibilities on the table, subsequent classified material led them to conclude that Iran or proxies acting on its behalf were implicated in at least one arson attack on Jewish community property.
Recent incidents cited by UK officials
The Foreign Office referenced a sequence of events that have heightened concern in Whitehall and among community leaders. Those include:
- An arson attack in March that targeted four Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green.
- A cyber incident in July that forced the temporary shutdown of a small power plant in the UK; media reports linked the intrusion to hackers allegedly affiliated with the Iranian regime.
- Ongoing violence tied to the regional war involving Iran, the US and Israel, and the closure of a major shipping route with global economic consequences.
In February, the United States and Israel launched strikes in Iran that resulted in the death of the country’s supreme leader. Iran retaliated with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US forces and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which around a fifth of global oil and gas transits, disrupting energy markets worldwide.
| Incident | Reported impact |
|---|---|
| Arson on community ambulances (Golders Green) | Damage to four vehicles serving the Jewish community |
| Cyber attack on small power plant | Temporary shutdown; media reports link hackers to Iran |
| Closure of Strait of Hormuz | Disruption to ~20% of global oil and gas shipping |
At the UN meeting, Miliband urged Tehran to pursue de‑escalation and diplomacy rather than prolonging conflict, and pressed for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to alleviate economic strain on global energy supplies. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has told the General Assembly that any settlement would need to lift a US blockade that prevents Iranian vessels from using the route.
The Foreign Office also raised the issue of a British couple detained in Iran. The ministers discussed bilateral ties and broader international developments, as reported by Iran’s state news agency, which said the pair exchanged views on both bilateral and global matters.
British ministers now face the task of balancing a firm response to threats on UK soil with broader diplomatic efforts at the UN. Senior officials will be under pressure to set out what measures will be taken to protect vulnerable communities and critical infrastructure while coordinating with allies over intelligence assessments and potential retaliatory or preventative action.
