Four men have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran as part of a long-running counter-terrorism investigation focused on the surveillance of Jewish community sites and individuals in London, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.
The arrests were carried out in the early hours of Friday morning by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London, who swooped on addresses in Barnet, Watford and Harrow as part of a pre-planned operation beginning shortly after 1am. A further six men were arrested at the same Harrow location on suspicion of assisting an offender, bringing the total number detained to ten. All ten remain in custody.
Of the four men arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, one is an Iranian national while the remaining three hold dual British and Iranian nationality. Those detained were aged 40 and 55 at addresses in the Barnet area, a 52-year-old in Watford — where searches were also conducted at a Wembley address — and a 22-year-old in Harrow. The six additional men arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender were aged 20, 20, 29, 39, 42 and 49, all detained at the same Harrow location.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, confirmed the arrests formed part of a long-running investigation. “Today’s arrests are part of a long-running investigation and part of our ongoing work to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it,” she said. She also directly addressed the Jewish community, saying: “We understand the public may be concerned, in particular the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood responded to the news on X, praising the police and security services and offering reassurance to the public. “The Jewish community and the wider public will understandably be concerned by today’s arrests,” she wrote, adding that Britain’s security services “won’t hesitate to take action to counter any threat to the UK.”
The arrests come against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the Middle East following the US and Israeli joint operation against Iran, which has drawn in a number of allied nations including the UK and left hundreds of thousands of British nationals stranded across the region.
The Iran spy arrests also follow closely on the heels of a separate counter-terrorism operation conducted on Wednesday, in which three men were arrested on suspicion of spying for China. One of those detained, David Taylor, is married to Scottish Labour MP Joani Reid, who subsequently suspended herself from the Labour Party on Thursday. Reid has denied any knowledge that would have led her to suspect her husband of espionage activity. The Labour Party described the allegations as “incredibly serious.”
Both investigations remain ongoing.
