British Police Snatch Up Eight Men in Counter Terrorism Plots, Identifying Seven as Iranian Nationals

This is quite something (although the music is obnoxious beyond belief).

Police have arrested 8 people, 7 of whom are Iranians, over a suspected terrorist plot.

I wonder what excuses they will come up with so they don’t get deported ?

pic.twitter.com/A7xXEQhO20

— WeGotitBack 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@NotFarLeftAtAll) May 4, 2025

What makes it even more interesting is that the normally reticent British government, which never speaks in terms of ethnicities or cultural identification even in the most notorious and heinous of circumstances, identified these two batches of arrestees immediately as Iranian. It also stated these men had been in the process of finishing up a plot for a terror attack on a specific target and only stopped in the nick of time.

YOWSAHS

🇬🇧 Imminent Suspected Iran ‘Terror Raid’ Foiled

▫Authorities feared attack on ‘specific premises’ was hours away as seven Iranians arrested
▫@rmendick @evansma @fiona_parker14 @SheridanDani
▫https://t.co/Q60uKnJHvW#frontpagestoday #UK @Telegraph pic.twitter.com/7FuJzvZI8T

— 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 📰 (@ukpapers) May 5, 2025

What should truly terrify British residents is that while the units arrested both groups near simultaneously, authorities don’t consider them ‘linked.’ 

…Seven Iranian nationals are among eight men arrested in two major counter-terrorism investigations that took place separately on Saturday.

Five of the arrests were part of a “pre-planned” investigation into an alleged plot to “target a specific premises”, the Metropolitan Police said.

Dramatic footage taken in Rochdale showed one man removed from a house by armed officers – while another was filmed being dragged through the street in Swindon with plastic bags placed over his arms.

As part of a separate investigation led by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) – responsible for leading counter-terror and espionage investigations – three other Iranian men were arrested in London on Saturday.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the operations, worked on by hundreds of police officers and staff, were among “the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations” in recent years.

Cdr Dominic Murphy, the CTC’s head, stressed that they were not treating the two investigations into “separate incidents” as linked.

The reported target of one of the plotting groups had been made aware and was under what I’m presuming is added security. The raiding party had the military involved as well.

…Police said the investigation that led to the England-wide arrests related to a suspected plot to target a “specific premises”, which it did not name.

The “affected site” had been made aware and is being supported by police, the Met added.

Cdr Murphy said he was unable to discuss specifics of the alleged plot to target the site.

Four of the men were detained under the Terrorism Act. The fifth man was arrested under the Police and Criminal Evidence (Pace) Act.

All five were also arrested on suspicion of preparation of an act of terrorism.

It is understood that military personnel assisted in the Rochdale raid.

Rumors are flying with guesses that it was a mosque or a synagogue, but no leaks yet specifying what the target had been.

Whatever it was, British law enforcement and the Counter Terrorism Command felt they had scooped up the bad guys with only ‘hours’ to spare.

🚨 The Telegraph: Iranians arrested in Britain “were hours away” from carrying out an attack, likely against a synagogue or Jewish community building pic.twitter.com/Cv8onXdFkV

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) May 5, 2025

Officials said the other three Iranian nationals nabbed in London had been grabbed specifically in a ‘national security arrest’ to prevent them from leaving the country after hearing about the other raids. Authorities were worried they’d be destroying evidence of whatever they’d been up to and who they’d been in communication with while in England.

…A further three Iranian men were arrested in London over a separate operation, with officers concerned they would leave the UK or destroy critical evidence against them after the other, unrelated raids.

The men, aged 39, 44 and 55, who are all Iranian nationals, were arrested and detained under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023.

…Asked about possible links to the Iranian state, she said: “These are major operations that have taken place and the ongoing investigation is immensely important, and of course it involves Iranian nationals in both investigations and we are supporting the police and the security agencies in the investigations that they are taking and the security assessments that they are doing.”

…The head of MI5, Ken McCallum, said in October that authorities had stopped 20 state-backed plots hatched by Iran in the UK since 2022.

He warned of an “unprecedented pace and scale” of plots posing “potentially lethal threats” to British citizens and UK residents.

Starmer needs to get the wee boats from France stopped, as they are packed with Iranians whose motives can only be considered suspect.

More Iranians than any other nationality have entered the UK by small boat: 25,724.

Only 10 have been sent back against their will in the last 2 years.

At least 7 Iranians have been arrested in terror operations. If any came by small boat, then it’ll be Starmer’s kryptonite. pic.twitter.com/oVRTk57nhl

— Mystery 🇬🇧 (@MissStury) May 4, 2025

How many of them mean business and are on the move, being housed and fed by the British people they intend to destroy?

I’ve been saying this for a very long time. There will be numerous sleeper-cells in this country. Iran has had its eyes on the UK for many years and now these sleeper-cells, some who may have been here for 20 or 30 years are well prepared and ready to act.

— Belstaffie (@Belstaffie) May 5, 2025

And whatever they’ve learned so far, apparently, they feel the suspects in the first group have additional information to offer, or should. British counter-terrorism officers have gotten warrants enabling them to hold some of these individuals longer, while at least one has already been released on bail.

…Authorities secured warrants to detain four Iranians aged between 29 and 46 – who were arrested over a suspected plot to target a specific premises – for questioning until May 10, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Monday. Police have not named the targeted site.

“Our officers and staff are progressing what is a significant and highly complex investigation, and we still have searches and activity underway at multiple addresses across the country,” Commander Dominic Murphy, who heads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said.

Britain has recently intensified its scrutiny of Iran, placing Tehran on the highest tier of its foreign influence register. Last year the head of MI5 domestic spy agency, Ken McCallum, said that since 2022, officers had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots, which potentially posed lethal threats to British citizens and residents.

The second group can be held until May 10.

But there’s so much to do, and Starmer is still allowing so many to come. 

They’re not going to be in the nick of time one of these days…again.