British police on Friday charged a 39-year-old man with assisting Iran's intelligence service under the UK's National Security laws.

The suspect, Vahid Aberi, of Liverpool, was taken to a police station in central England. Police also carried out searches at addresses in Birmingham and Liverpool.

British security officials have repeatedly warned that Iran has attempted to use criminal proxies to conduct hostile activity in the UK. Since the start of the US-Iran war, Britain has seen a number of antisemitic attacks linked to Iran.

Earlier this week, Britain used new powers targeting state-sponsored proxies to ban support for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Police said they had not identified any direct threat to a community or individual in connection with the Aberi investigation, but added that they have increasingly had to intervene to disrupt suspected activity by foreign intelligence services.

"We have seen a significant and sustained increase in the tempo of our work in national security investigations in recent years," said Helen Flanagan, head of counter terrorism policing in London.

Last week, Britain summoned Iran's most senior diplomat following the stabbing of an Iranian journalist in London, an attack for which two Romanian men were convicted.

Iran's embassy in London has previously rejected allegations that Iran poses a threat to Britain, calling them "unfounded, politically motivated and hostile."

Aberi is due to appear in a London court later on Friday.