UK police detain four suspected of aiding Iranian intelligence

Four men were arrested in Britain on Friday on suspicion of aiding Iran’s intelligence service by spying on locations and individuals connected to London’s Jewish community, police said.

The suspects — one Iranian national and three dual British-Iranians — were apprehended by counterterrorism officers at three separate addresses across the UK capital, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

Helen Flanagan, head of counterterrorism policing at the Met, described the arrests as “part of a long-running investigation".

“We understand the public may be concerned, particularly the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and, if they see or hear anything that concerns them, to contact us,” she added.

Six other men were also arrested at one of the addresses on suspicion of assisting an offender and have been taken into custody, the Met said.

UK police, the domestic intelligence agency MI5, and members of parliament have long warned of a growing threat from Iran, which is currently engaged in a war with the United States and Israel.

In October, MI5 chief Ken McCallum said British security services had tracked “more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots” over the previous year.

Individuals targeted by Iran in the UK have included dissidents and journalists.