Fears Iran will unleash Hezbollah ‘sleeper cells’ of fanatics in UK & US in bloody revenge move after Israel’s strike

IRAN could unleash its sleeper cells of fanatics in the West in response to Israel's overnight strikes, a former Brit commander has warned.

Colonel Richard Kemp, who led Brit forces in Afghanistan, told The Sun it's a "real danger" that will soon become a reality when Tehran and its proxies decide to act.

He said Iran and Hezbollah could "activate" sleeper cells across Europe to launch attacks against the UK and US when they decide the time is right.

It comes as Israel launched a wave of revenge strikes overnight into Iran in response to its unprecedented blitz earlier this month.

The daring military op - dubbed "Days of Repentance" - saw Israel target Iranian air defence systems, missile and drone bases and production sites.

Tehran had fired some 180 ballistic missiles on October 1 after Israel wiped out Hassan Nasrallah - the chief of Hezbollah, Iran's biggest and most powerful terror proxy.

Colonel Kemp has warned that Iran could respond to Israel's revenge attack with its global network of sleeper cells - overseen by the fanatical Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

These types of attacks may include car bomb attacks outside Israeli embassies - carried out by Iran-backed terrorists such as Hezbollah.

Although Hezbollah's leadership has been wiped out in Lebanon, the terror organisation has sleeper cells elsewhere - including in Europe, Colonel Kemp said.

He told The Sun: "Hezbollah and its IRGC sponsors have a massive network, in many, many countries. That network does a number of things.

"It provides funding for Hezbollah - there are fundraising operations here in the UK and other countries in Europe that raise funds and get them to Hezbollah.

"But there is also a network of sleeper cells inside European countries - including here in the UK - which have been established for a long time.

"They will be activated at the right moment when Hezbollah or the IRGC decide that's the time to do so."

Colonel Kemp said Iran's sleeper cells of terror proxies exist to "act as a deterrent" for some form of Western attack on Iran - and also for retaliation purposes.

He said: "Without a doubt, if Hezbollah is allowed to continue to exist in some form - in a dangerous form - then its primary purpose will be to to retaliate or to deter and, if necessary, retaliate against attacks on Iran by either the US or by Israel.

"If Israel does carry out a severe attack against Iran, Iran is largely defenceless in terms of its retaliation capacity.

"It's possible they could revert to, attacks elsewhere outside Israel using the sleeper cells they have in place - whether it be to carry out car bomb attacks against Israeli embassies.

"They could attempt that - and that potentially presents a wider threat which, which could impact this country just as much as it could on any other country.

"It's a danger we should bear in mind - an Israeli attack which Iran is unable to retaliate to."

The People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) - an opposition group which advocates the overthrow of the regime - has warned that Tehran's network of sleeper cells are "not only ready but functioning".

Bloody operations linked to Iran have previously reached deep into Europe and the US - all working on orders from the very top of Tehran.

In 2015, MI5 busted a Hezbollah sleeper cell that was massing huge amounts of explosives on the outskirts of London.

Last year, a deadly shipment of uranium was seized at Heathrow Airport in the UK - believed to have been destined for Iranian nationals based in the country.

It is feared it could have been part of a plot to build a dirty bomb or stage an assassination.

In the US last year, a New Jersey software engineer was jailed for 12 years for his role as a "sleeper agent" in an elite Hezbollah unit.

Iran's network has carried out terror attacks or major terrorist operations in the West, including in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy.

Two Iranian nationals were held last year over a terror plot to use cyanide and ricin in Germany.

And in 2021 an Iranian diplomat was convicted in Belgium for being part of a terrorist plot to blow up an event hosted by a dissident group in Paris.

The conference was being attending by five British MPs.

All of these are overseen by the military group known as the Quds Force, watched over by the powerful IRGC.

The Quds Force - once headed by General Qassem Soleimani before he was blown up by the US in 2020 - reports directly to the supreme leader of fundamentalist regime, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It is estimated the force is up to 20,000 strong and is understood to be responsible for supporting and training proxy groups worldwide.

In 2022, MI5 chief Ken McCallum named Iran as a major security threat to the UK - and said there were 10 foiled plots to kidnap or kill people in Britain that year.

Earlier this month, German newspaper Der Spiegel said a number of Iran-backed terror plots targeting Jews and Israeli-linked businesses in Europe have been foiled by security services this year.

According to the report, the foiled attacks - planned for 2024 - involved a network recruited by Tehran to conduct surveillance on Jewish and Israeli targets in Germany.

In May this year, Iran International reported that Israeli and Swedish Intelligence agencies warned about Iran using criminal networks in Europe to carry out a string of attacks on Israeli embassies.

Israel has reportedly delayed its revenge strike against Iran after potentially sensitive military intel about the plot was leaked.

The alleged documents, marked as "top secret", are said to contain US intelligence analysing Israel's inevitable retaliation plan against Iran.

Parts of the leaked document, dated October 15 and 16, reportedly contain satellite imagery appearing to show Israel's preparation of munitions and military drills.

Others describe the assessment of the Israeli Air Force exercising long-range ballistic and air-to-surface missiles - believed to be planned for a potential strike against Iran.

The documents suggest Israel was conducting covert surveillance on Iran using advanced drone technology.

The Sun is not directly quoting or showing the information from the leaked documents.

But according to The Times, Israel has been forced to come up with an alternative plan to strike Iran after the leak.

Senior US officials privately acknowledged the docs were authentic - but suggested they were not a comprehensive assessment of Israel's full retaliation plan against Iran.

The leaked documents have markings that indicate they are only meant to be seen by the US and its Five Eyes - Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

But the documents began circulating in Telegram after being posted by an account called Middle East Spectator.

Visiting an air base earlier this month, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant vowed: "Everyone who dreamed a year ago of beating us and attacking us paid a heavy price and are no longer in that dream."