UK Counter-Terrorism Police Granted More Time to Question Iran Spying Suspects
British counter-terrorism police have been granted extended detention powers to question four men arrested on suspicion of conducting surveillance on behalf of Iran, in an investigation focused on alleged espionage targeting Jewish locations and individuals across London.
The Metropolitan Police said on Saturday that the four suspects, one Iranian national and three dual British-Iranian nationals aged 22, 40, 52 and 55, can now be held in custody until 13 March after detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London secured warrants of further detention. The men were arrested under the National Security Act in the early hours of Friday at addresses in Harrow, Watford and Barnet.
Six other men, aged between 20 and 49, who were arrested at the same location in Harrow, have been released on bail pending further investigation. One of that group was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
Detectives are understood to be investigating why the alleged surveillance of Jewish locations and individuals was being carried out and whether it was connected to a wish to carry out attacks on British soil. Part of the investigation is examining claims that in-person surveillance took place in London and whether it was directed from overseas. The operation, conducted jointly by counter-terrorism police and MI5, had been running for several months before the arrests were made.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Friday that the arrests had kept "Britain safe from a potential threat" and offered reassurance to those unsettled by the development. "The Jewish community and the wider public will understandably be concerned by today's arrests," she said, adding that the government was monitoring the situation closely and engaging with those affected.
Mahmood praised the work of police and the security services, describing them as "world-leading" and pledging that they would continue to use the full range of tools and powers available to keep the country safe. She urged the public to allow investigators the time and space to continue their work.
The arrests come against a backdrop of heightened concern about Iranian state-directed activity on British soil. In October last year, MI5 director general Ken McCallum revealed that 20 plots linked to Iran had been disrupted in the UK in the previous twelve months. Most of those were directed against Iranian dissident targets, though at least one was linked to an Israeli target in Britain.
