British counter-terrorism authorities have arrested eight individuals—seven of them Iranian nationals—across two separate investigations, amid growing concerns over Iran-linked operations in the UK, according to a statement issued by London’s Metropolitan Police on Sunday.
In the first case, five men were detained on Saturday in Swindon, West London, Stockport, Rochdale, and Manchester. Four of the suspects are Iranian nationals aged between 29 and 40, while the fifth man’s nationality has not yet been confirmed. They are being held on suspicion of terrorism-related offenses tied to an alleged plot targeting a specific location. Police have reached out to the potential target to provide assistance, but details remain confidential for operational reasons.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said investigators are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry to determine motives and assess any further risks to public safety.
Iran’s embassy in London has not commented on the arrests.
These developments occur at a time when Iranian-linked activity in the UK is under heightened scrutiny. In 2023, Britain’s domestic intelligence chief, Ken McCallum, disclosed that since 2022, authorities had disrupted 20 plots with potential lethal threats backed by Tehran.
In one such incident, an Austrian citizen was convicted in 2023 for conducting surveillance on the headquarters of Iran International, a media outlet critical of Iran’s regime. The following year, an Iranian-British journalist affiliated with the broadcaster was stabbed in London.
In response to these threats, the UK government placed Iran under the strictest level of its foreign influence registration scheme, requiring full disclosure of any political influence activities.
In a separate and unrelated case, three additional Iranian nationals—aged between 39 and 55—were arrested in London. They are suspected of involvement in activities linked to a hostile foreign power under the UK’s National Security Act, introduced in 2023 to combat threats from foreign states.
Search operations are ongoing at the suspects’ residences.
