Counter-terrorism probes
\nArrests come at time of intense scrutiny of Iran-backed activities in Britain
\n London
\nBritain\u2019s counter-terrorism police have arrested eight men, seven of whom are Iranian nationals, in two separate investigations, London\u2019s Metropolitan Police said on Sunday.
\nOn Saturday, five men, four of whom are Iranian nationals between the ages of 29 and 40, were detained on suspicion of terrorism offences over a plot to target a specific premises. The nationality of the fifth man remains unknown.
\nThe arrests were made in Swindon, west London, Stockport, Rochdale and Manchester, police said, adding that officers were in contact with the site of the suspected target to provide relevant support. They did not provide further information on the site, citing operational reasons. \u201cWe 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,\u201d said Commander Dominic Murphy, who heads London police\u2019s Counter Terrorism Command.
\nThe Embassy of Iran in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The arrests come at a time of intense scrutiny of Iran-backed activities in Britain, with the country\u2019s 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.
\nIn 2023, an Austrian national was convicted of carrying out \u201chostile reconnaissance\u201d against the London headquarters of Iran International, a broadcaster which is critical of Iran\u2019s government. The following year, a British journalist of Iranian origin who worked for Iran International was stabbed in London.
\nThe government has also placed Iran on the highest tier of foreign influence register, requiring it to register everything it does to exert political influence in the UK.
\nIn another counter-terrorism investigation, which police said was not connected to the first, three Iranian nationals aged between 39 and 55 were arrested in London.
\nThey were detained for suspected involvement in foreign power threat activity under the National Security Act, legislation which came into force in 2023 to counter hostile states\u2019 actions in the UK.
\nSearches were ongoing at their addresses, police added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Counter-terrorism probes Arrests come at time of intense scrutiny of Iran-backed activities in Britain London Britain\u2019s counter-terrorism police have arrested eight men, seven of whom are Iranian nationals, in two separate investigations, London\u2019s Metropolitan Police said on Sunday. On Saturday, five men, four of whom are Iranian nationals between the ages of 29 and 40, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-476430","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n