PDB Situation Report | February 28th, 2026: Former MI6 Chief Sounds Alarm On Iran & U.S. Combat Aircraft Move In
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What warning are Western intelligence officials giving about Iran's potential actions?
Welcome to Claas Olsson. Claas Olsson.
Welcome to the PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Western intelligence officials are warning that Iran could activate proxy networks across Europe if the U.S. moves forward with military strikes against the Iranian regime. We'll be joined by Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of UK's MI6, for more on that. Later in the show, in a first, U.S. combat aircraft
How might Iran activate proxy networks across Europe?
are now operating from Israeli soil as Washington prepares for the possibility of strikes on Iran. We'll be joined by good friend of the show, you know him, you love him, Ryan McBeth, for details. But first, today's Situation Report Spotlight. Western intelligence officials are warning that Iran could direct proxy terror attacks across Europe if the U.S. launches military strikes against Tehran. Intercepted communications show rising coordination among Iranian-backed networks, raising concerns, of course, about asymmetric retaliation targeting U.S. embassies, military facilities, or allied interests. Now, this is not without precedent. Hezbollah has carried out attacks in Europe before, including a deadly bombing in Bulgaria back in 2012.
Iranian operatives have also been convicted for plotting attacks under diplomatic cover on European soil.
What insights does Sir Richard Dearlove provide on the Iranian threat?
Security experts warn that Europe could become an asymmetric battleground, not just operationally, but politically, if Tehran seeks to fracture Western unity. Joining me now is Sir Richard Dearlove. Sir Richard spent 38 years in Britain's secret intelligence service, known as MI6. He held numerous overseas posts, including Washington's station chief, before becoming head of operations and eventually director of MI6 for several years. And I should point this out because you need to be listening to this. He's also the co-host of the terrific geopolitical podcast, One Decision. And Sir Richard, I want to thank you very much for taking the time to join us here on the Situation Report.
Mike, it's a real pleasure to be with you, and I'm delighted to contribute to your podcast, as you have to mine.
Well, thank you, and that was a delight as well. If we could, I want to start with these reports about...
What is the significance of U.S. combat aircraft operating from Israeli soil?
The potential, should there be US military strikes on Iran, the potential for Iran to activate their various proxy networks to conduct potential attacks in the EU. First of all, I want to know whether you give much credence to these reports and this potential and how concerned you are about the possibility of this.
Well, I certainly give credence to that sort of intelligence. But I would say that The IRGC who would probably be driving this, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is essentially the Muller's intelligence and the sort of overseas arm, the Quds Force, will be behind such activity. But I think that what I would say is that their choice of targets if they do this would be When I say careful, what I mean by that is they would be very specific in who and what they go after. So, if you look at Iranian terrorist activity historically, it's either been aimed at the diaspora, the opposition, or specifically American targets. I think they would be reluctant to go after specifically European targets.
in a manner like ISIS, because this is a state-driven terrorism.
How does Ryan McBeth assess the military capabilities of the U.S. in the region?
It's not the sort of anarchic terrorism of ISIS. So you have to make a distinction in terms of what we're actually talking about. But it would be lethal, it would be organized, and it would be pretty professional.
And it seems it wasn't that long ago, I believe, when reporting out of the UK, Basically, they were saying, we've uncovered, I think it was almost two dozen potential plots being conducted or at least planned by Iranian intel operatives. Again, that's within the UK and within the course of about a year, I believe, they say they disrupted close to a dozen plots or two dozen plots.
Yeah I think the activity in the UK has been inspired through extremist Shia groups in certain mosques and I think the evidence points to attacks on Israeli or Jewish targets but
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What warning are Western intelligence officials giving about Iran's potential actions?
0:00–0:58
2
How might Iran activate proxy networks across Europe?
0:58–1:49
3
What insights does Sir Richard Dearlove provide on the Iranian threat?
1:49–2:44
4
What is the significance of U.S. combat aircraft operating from Israeli soil?
2:44–4:16
5
How does Ryan McBeth assess the military capabilities of the U.S. in the region?
4:16–5:45
6
What are the implications of the U.S. military buildup in the Middle East?
5:45–7:10
7
How does Iran's missile and drone technology affect regional security?
7:10–8:14
8
What potential scenarios could arise from U.S. military action against Iran?
8:14–1:12:27
Speakers
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