UK arrests 4 Iranians, fifth suspect in connection with alleged 'terrorism offenses'

The London Metropolitan Police announced on Sunday that five individuals, including four Iranian nationals, were arrested on suspicion of “terrorism offenses.” It is unclear whether the fifth suspect is a British citizen or a foreign national.

The arrests reportedly took place in London, Swindon, and the Manchester region. The individuals, aged between 29 and 46, were apprehended on suspicion of "preparation of a terrorist act."

The London Police revealed that the arrests were linked to "a suspected plot to target a specific premises," but did not specify which premises the individuals planned to attack. 

"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," Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads London's Counter Terrorism Command, stated. "This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated."

The Iranian embassy in London has so far refrained from commenting publicly on the issue.

The Iranian regime has, for years, carried out covert operations in the West in cooperation with local criminal gangs. 

In February 2023, British Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat said Iran was using criminals to spy on prominent British Jews. 

“We know that the Iranians are using non-traditional sources to carry out these operations, including organized criminal gangs. They are paying criminal gangs to conduct surveillance. Basically, the Iranians are using crooks based in Britain to spy for them,” Tugendhat said at the time. “You can be very clear that I wouldn’t have mentioned Jewish and Israeli targets unless I had good reason to do so."

Iran’s covert operations in Europe have reportedly intensified following the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre on southern Israel.

In October 2024, the United Kingdom expressed concerns over the “staggering rise” of Tehran-led terrorist plots in the UK and Europe. 

Ken McCallum, the director-general of MI5 (Britain's intelligence agency), warned: “Today, we are powerfully alive to the risk that events in the Middle East directly trigger terrorist action in the UK, as we saw with last October’s knife attack in Hartlepool. The ripples from conflict in that region will not necessarily arrive at our shores in a straightforward fashion; they will be filtered through the lens of online media and mixed with existing views and grievances in unpredictable ways."

In the same month, a European report confirmed that Iran was using local criminal gangs to target Israelis and Jews.

More recently, a CNN investigation revealed that the Iranian regime has been using criminal minors in Sweden to carry out attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets. Investigative journalist Diamant Salihu argued that Iran has been exploiting ongoing gang conflicts in Sweden and other European countries.

“To understand why we see young Swedish teenagers attacking Israeli companies and embassies, we need to first acknowledge that we have had an ongoing gang conflict here in Sweden for a long time,” Salihu said.