UK investigates claims its universities worked with Iran on drone technology

Rishi Sunak says Britain will not accept academic collaborations that compromise national security

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his government was investigating claims that UK universities had collaborated with Iran on drone technology. Getty Images

Britain's government is investigating reports that UK universities collaborated with Iran on military drones and other sensitive technology.

The issue was raised by Conservative MP David Davis at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday, after a report by the Jewish Chronicle newspaper earlier this month.

The former cabinet minister called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “take action to stop the failure of our sanctions regime before it does any more harm”.

It comes as Russia is accused of using Iranian-made attack drones in Ukraine.

"We take all allegations of breaches of export controls seriously and my understanding is that officials in the Department for Business and Trade are currently now investigating the allegations made in the recent press article cited," Mr Sunak said.

"We will not accept collaborations which compromise our national security," he said, pointing to stepped-up controls on academic collaborations in technology.

At least 11 British universities, including Cambridge, Cranfield, Glasgow and Imperial College London, were named by the Jewish Chronicle as taking part in studies with potential Iranian military applications.

Citing analysis of thousands of papers published in scientific journals since 2017, the newspaper said that in one Iranian-funded project, UK researchers worked to improve the altitude, speed and range of drones.

Another university worked with Iranian scientists to test new control systems for jets, aimed at increasing their manoeuvrability and response times in "military applications", it said.

Britain bans the export of military and "dual-use" technology to Iran, and has imposed sanctions against Iranian individuals and organisations accused of supplying drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

The United States says that Russia has received hundreds of Iranian drones to attack Kyiv and terrorise Ukrainians, a charge denied by Tehran.

The White House said it would release new government advice to assist businesses and governments "to ensure they are not inadvertently contributing to Iran's [drone] programme".

British universities cited in the Jewish Chronicle report said they complied with legal and academic obligations in their international collaborations.