Both operations, conducted on Saturday, resulted in the collective arrests of eight suspects, seven of whom hold Iranian citizenship, while the identity of the eighth is being investigated, the Metropolitan Police said in two statements.
“The investigation relates to a suspected plot to target a specific premises,” a statement on the arrest of five suspects said. Police said they are “carrying out searches at a number of addresses in the Greater Manchester, London and Swindon areas in connection with this investigation.”
Commander Dominic Murphy from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command revealed that police are investigating the motives behind the suspected plot.
“This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated,” Murphy said, calling for vigilance from the public while the investigation is conducted.
Police said that the second arrests of three men were “not connected” to the initial five, and separate probes have been launched.
The eight men are aged between 29 and 55, according to the statements.
British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the arrests “serious events that demonstrate the ongoing requirement to adapt our response to national security threats.”
All suspects remain in police custody.
In a speech in October, the director of the UK’s MI5 domestic security service, Ken McCallum, said that at least 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots have been foiled in Britain since 2022, mostly targeting dissident Iranians opposed to the Islamic republic.
