(Update) British Continue to Hold 4 Men with Ties to Iran for Terror Plot on Israeli Embassy
Iran is a Threat, We Should Treat it As One
Updates Are at the Bottom
On 3 May, The British Mi-5 arrested eight individuals, seven of whom were Iranian nationals, in two separate count-terrorism operations across the country. The head of the legendary Mi5, Sir Ken McCallum, had warned last fall that Iran would target the United Kingdom for supporting Israel.
Of note, the British do host an Iranian Embassy in the United Kingdom, which allows the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps - Quds Forces more than enough space to conduct these plots.
According to the Telegraph, the British authorities disrupted the plot to attack a UK synagogue with only hours to spare. According to the Daily Mail, the British SAS likely joined the arrest raids.
Never forget the Iranians did this to the United States a year ago:
One of the Iranian nationals arrested in the UK on suspicion of planning a terror attack has close ties to the Iranian regime
The suspect's family reportedly holds major businesses in the Islamic Republic, with the source saying he was “very well connected."
Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said officers "are progressing what is a significant and highly complex investigation".
"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.
On Sunday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the two operations "reflect some of the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years".
Last year MI5 said it had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots since January 2022.
Update 11 May 0722
The Israeli embassy in London was the alleged target of five Iranian men arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism, the BBC understands.
The men - two aged 29, a 40-year-old, a 24-year-old and another aged 46 - were arrested on Saturday over an alleged plan to target "a specific premises", the Met said.
The men were arrested in Swindon, west London, Stockport, Rochdale and Manchester.
Commissioner for countering extremism Robin Simcox said it was quite unusual for an embassy to be targeted in the UK.
"I think the scale of Iranian-backed activity in this country is probably underestimated," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"We are increasingly aware of the hard power side of things but Iran also looks to spread its influence in the UK via religious institutes it controls, television channels, charities, educational institutes, online disinformation campaigns - all organisations which share Tehran's aims and objectives.
"It is not always very visible. Iranian actives I think are a bit more subversive and a bit subtler - they are probably a bit more strategic in their targeting."
The five arrests took place on the same day as three other Iranian men were arrested as part of a separate counter-terrorism investigation.
Also, according to the BBC:
Police have been given more time to question four Iranian men over an alleged terror plot in the UK.
Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Home Office minister Dan Jarvis described the two separate investigations as "some of the largest counter-state threats and counter-terrorism actions that we have seen in recent times"
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