Britain Reveals Russia Used the Iran War as Cover to Send Spy Submarines After Undersea Cables in the North Atlantic

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said at a press conference that a British warship and aircraft found Russian submarines attempting to spy on undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic.

​During a press conference at Downing Street, Healey said British naval forces and surveillance aircraft kept close watch on Russian submarines under suspicion of examining key seabed systems in the North Atlantic, ultimately forcing them to withdraw from the area, per The Guardian.

Royal Navy Tracked Russian Submarines In Long Operation

​Healey explained that the mission continued for over a month, and that it involved a Royal Navy vessel and a P-8 patrol aircraft working together to follow the movements of three Russian submarines and discourage any possible hostile activity. 'A Royal Navy warship and Royal Air Force P-8 aircraft alongside allies ensured that the Russian submarines were monitored 24/7,' he said.

Though the exact location was not revealed, Healey stated it took place outside Britain's territorial waters, within the country's exclusive economic zone, which stretches up to 200 nautical miles from the coast.

​The defence secretary also identified the vessels involved as a nuclear-powered Akula-class submarine and two specialised deep-diving craft operated by Moscow's ​Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research (GUGI).

​'The Akula submarine subsequently retreated home, having been closely tracked throughout and we continued to monitor the two Gugi submarines in and around wider UK waters,' he stated.

​Healey explained further, 'Our armed forces left them in no doubt that they were being monitored, that their movements were not covert, as President Putin planned, and that their attempted secret operation had been exposed. Those Gugi submarines have now left UK waters and headed back north.' Five hundred personnel were working during the operation, according to Healey.

​When asked for operational details, Healey explained, British forces used repeated deployments of sonar buoys to signal continuous surveillance 'to demonstrate to them that we were monitoring every hour of their operation.

He said further, 'And because we were watching them, we wanted to ensure that we could warn them that their covert operation had been exposed and reduce the risk that they may attempt any action that could damage our pipelines or our cables.'

​Healey Warns Vladimir Putin

Reuters reported that the Russian submarines were monitored for weeks by British and allied forces, including naval ships and surveillance aircraft, before eventually withdrawing without any reported damage to infrastructure.

The report also shared that Healey had chosen to disclose the mission publicly to make clear to President Vladimir Putin that their movements had been detected. 'To President Putin, I ​say 'We see you. We see your activity over our cables ‌and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences',' Healey pointed out.

Iran Conflict Seen as Strategic Distraction

​The defence secretary linked the timing of the operation to the war involving Iran, arguing that Moscow may have used the global focus shifting to the Middle East to increase covert activity closer to Europe. He said the operation took place 'while the eyes of many were trained on the Middle East.'

​Healey noted the UK and Norway-led forces maintained close surveillance during the period, which highlighted concerns that rival states may attempt to exploit wider geopolitical distractions to test or probe critical undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic, per Military.com.