Iranian Terror Cell Busted in UK — Are Jewish Sites at Risk?

Authorities in the United Kingdom thwarted an alleged imminent terrorist plot
after British police arrested eight suspects, including seven Iranians, on two
separate occasions, amidst speculations that they were planning to attack a
Jewish community site.

> https://twitter.com/IranLionness/status/1919411747103903760

The Metropolitan Police announced that British counter-terrorism police
conducted two separate raids that led to the arrest of eight men, including
seven Iranians.

The first operation saw the arrest of five men, including four Iranian nationals
between the ages of 29 and 40, on May 3rd in West London and the English cities
and towns of Swindon, Stockport, Rochdale, and Manchester. The fifth man’s
nationality was not known. In a second operation that is not related to the
first, counter-terrorism police arrested three Iranian nationals, aged between
39 and 55, on the same day in London.

“We are exploring various lines of enquiry to … identify whether there may be
any further risk to the public linked to this matter,” Commander Dominic Murphy,
who heads London’s Counter-Terrorism Command, said.

He also urged the public to “remain vigilant“ and alert the authorities if they
noticed anything suspicious.

> https://twitter.com/GhorbaniiNiyak/status/1918920083562217811

The Telegraph reported that one of the Iranian nationals arrested in the first
operation has close ties to the Islamic Republic, with the suspect’s family
reportedly running major businesses in Iran, citing Iranian sources in the UK.

The eight suspects were arrested for being involved in foreign power threat
activities under the country’s National Security Act of 2023, which was passed
to counter the actions of countries deemed hostile to the UK within the country.

The five suspects detained after the first operation were also accused of
attempting to carry out a terrorist plot to target specific premises, allegedly
a synagogue or another Jewish site. Police also said that searches were ongoing
at their addresses.

The UK’s Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said on May 4th that the two raids were
among the most extensive counterterrorism operations that Britain has seen in
recent years. She did not respond directly when asked about possible links
between the suspects and the Iranian regime, but hinted at a potential
connection.

> https://twitter.com/pwcwright/status/1919334692999827800

“The significant operations carried out and the ongoing investigation are of
immense importance, and of course, Iranian citizens are involved in both
investigations,“ she said. “We support the police and security services in their
investigations and security assessments.“

The arrests also came at a time of intense scrutiny of suspected Iran-backed
activities in the UK and louder calls to blacklist the Islamic Revolutionary
Guards Corps (IRGC).

The head of the domestic intelligence agency MI5, Ken McCallum, said in October
last year that Tehran is behind “plot after plot“ in the UK and that it
uncovered five new planned attacks last year, taking the total to 20 since
January 2022.

The Islamic Republic has been accused of carrying out terrorist plots against
Jewish and Israeli sites and persons, as well as Iranian dissidents living
abroad. In one case, an exiled Iranian dissident and journalist, Pouria Zeraati,
was stabbed outside his home in London in March 2024. He was a presenter for the
London-based opposition news outlet Iran International.