Britain is facing a "staggering rise" in assassination attempts on U.K. soil by Russia and Iran, as the hostile states recruit criminals to "do their dirty work" for them, the head of the U.K.'s domestic intelligence agency said Tuesday.

MI5 director Ken McCallum said his agents and police have tackled 20 Tehran-backed plots since 2022 and warned that Iran could expand its targets in the U.K. if Israel attacks in response to Iran's missile barrage. The spy chief said the widening conflicts in the Middle East raise the risk "of an increase in – or broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the U.K."