British terrorist control agents have placed several Iranians in detention for an alleged plan to launch an attack on an anonymous site in London, the metropolitan police confirmed on Sunday.
The arrests were made on Saturday in different parts of England, with five men aged 29 to 46 who were suspected of having prepared “a terrorist act”.
Four of the detained persons are Iranian nationals, while efforts to confirm the identity and nationality of the fifth individual are still underway.
All five are currently questioned in the police posts and have not been officially charged. Investigators are also researching addresses in London, Manchester and Swindon.
The authorities said that the suspected plot was focused on a specific location, the details of which are refused “for operational reasons”.
Commander Dominic Murphy, who directs the command of counter-terrorism, said that the police were still trying to determine the motivation behind the alleged conspiracy, as well as if there is a continuous danger to the public.
In a separate case, the police revealed that three other Iranians – aged 39, 44 and 55 – were arrested in London as part of an investigation unrelated to a possible violation of national security.
Interior secretary, Yvette Cooper, described arrests as a brutal reminder of the need to remain vigilant in the face of evolutionary security challenges. Cooper said that it is “serious events that demonstrate the requirement continues to adapt our response to national security threats”.
She added: “The government continues to work with the police and intelligence agencies to support all the action and security assessments necessary to ensure the security of the country”.
Although no direct link with Iran has been established in the main case, the National Security Agency MI5 warned against an increasing danger of people or operations linked to Tehran.
In a statement last October, MI5 chief Ken McCallum said that the security services had disrupted 20 “potentially fatal” plots linked to Iran since 2022, many of whom were targeting dissidents based in the United Kingdom.
He also warned that the increase in tensions in the Middle East could cause more hostile actions from Iran to the United Kingdom.
In March 2024, the sewing of the sewing of Persia-Perse-Language criticizing the management of Iran-was stabbed outside his home in London. Two suspects were then found in Romania and arrested for the attack.
The national level of threats to the United Kingdom terrorism remains “substantial”, which means that an attack is considered probable.
