Eight people, including seven Iranian nationals, were arrested by British police Saturday as part of two separate anti-terrorism operations.
In one operation, five men — four of them Iranian — were taken into custody on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act”, London’s Metropolitan police said in a statement as seen by AFP.
The arrests were carried out in London as well as Swindon and the Greater Manchester area on suspicion of “terrorism offences.”
The outlet details the men, aged between 29 and 46, were detained by Counter Terrorism Police in regard to “a suspected plot to target a specific premises” — which was not named — and remain in police custody.
The four Iranian men were arrested under the Terrorism Act.
The fifth man, whose nationality was still being established, was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.
The arrests come at a time of intense scrutiny of Iran-backed activities in Britain, with the country’s domestic spy chief Ken McCallum saying last year that since 2022, officers had responded to 20 Tehran-backed plots that potentially posed lethal threats to UK citizens and residents, Reuters reports.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper said the “serious events” were part of the UK’s response to “national security threats”.
“This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated,” said Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism chief Dominic Murphy.
“The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter,” he added, per the BBC.
Meanwhile, three other men, all Iranian nationals, were arrested in London in a separate Counter Terrorism Police operation on Saturday.
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