Iranian terror arrests come after years of unlawful entry and asylum claims from nationals of the Middle East country

Counter Terror Police swoop on a Rochdale property on Saturday

TWO 'unrelated' arrests of Iranian nationals suspected of plotting terror strikes have come after several years of people from Iran being among the top numbers of illegal entrants and asylum seekers to the UK.

Met Police Counter Terrorism officers arrested eight people in two unconnected operations on Saturday.

A group of five men, who were arrested on Saturday, 3 May 2025, as part of a pre-planned operation were:

A 29-year-old man was arrested in the Swindon area, a 46-year-old man arrested in west London, a 29-year-old man arrested in the Stockport area, a 40-year-old man was arrested in the Rochdale area and a man, 24, was arrested in the Manchester area.

All five men were arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act (TACT), 2006.

Four of the men were detained under TACT. The man from Manchester was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE).

As part of the investigation, officers are also carrying out searches at a number of addresses in the Greater Manchester, London and Swindon areas in connection with this investigation.

The investigation relates to a suspected plot to target a specific premises. Officers have been in contact with the affected site to make them aware and provide relevant advice and support, but for operational reasons, we are not able to provide further information at this time.

Today, Monday May 5 2025, warrants of further detention were secured for the four men arrested under TACT, meaning they can be detained and questioned until Saturday, 10 May.The fifth man has now been released on bail, with conditions, to a date in May.

Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “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.

“We are working incredibly hard, with public safety at the forefront of our ongoing efforts.

“We believe that a specific premises was the target of this suspected plot and Counter Terrorism Policing officers remain in close contact with the affected premises.

“At this time, we will not be providing further information about the suspected target for reasons of operational security and public safety.

“I would like to ask people to support my officers in this and not to speculate or share information that has not been confirmed by Counter Terrorism Policing. We have clear and critical reasons not to provide more detail at this time.

“The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter.

“As always, I would ask the public to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us.

“We are working closely with local officers in the areas where we made arrests on Saturday and I’d like to thank police colleagues around the country for their ongoing support.”

Operational activity is currently being supported by Greater Manchester Police and Wiltshire Police, as well as colleagues from Counter Terrorism Policing across the country.

The Met Police has asked the public to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that doesn’t look or feel right, then to report it to police – either by calling police, in confidence, on 0800 789 321 or via www.gov.uk/ACT

In an emergency, always dial 999.

In the unconnected operation, three Iranians were arrested in London as part of another Counter Terrorism Policing investigation.

Two of the men, 39 and 44, were arrested at separate addresses in north west London and a third man, 55, was arrested at an address in west London on Saturday, 3 May, as part of the investigation, which is being led by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.

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

All three men have been taken into custody and searches continue at the three addresses.

It follows increased warnings from the Government and security services about Iranian hostile activity in the UK.

In 2024 MI5 Director General, Ken McCallum, said his organisation and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots posing potentially lethal threats to British citizens since January 2022.

Mr McCallum linked that increase to ongoing situations in Iran.

He said: "As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in - or a broadening of - Iranian state aggression in the UK."

What he did not mention was the high number of Iranians who have been entering the country by irregular means over the last few years.

Iranians have consistently been among the top five nationalities entering the UK by dangerous Channel crossings since they began in 2018, and also by other illegal means of entry, including hidden in lorries, inadequately documented air arrivals and being detected within the mainland UK.

In 2024 8,099 people from Iran claimed asylum in the UK, the third most behind Afghanistan (8,508) and Pakistan (10,542).

Between 2022 until the end of 2024 there were about 26,000 asylum claims from Iranians with about 64 percent of them granted asylum. Many of the came over the Channel in small boats. Since 2018 70 percent of people crossing the Channel have been men aged over 18.

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We don't yet know how long the arrested people have been in the country or how they arrived here.

If it was via the Channel crossings, it should be remembered that only a fraction of people making the perilous journey, will be coming to engage in terrorism.

There will be another fraction of others who come to commit crime or to extend the reach of the people smuggling networks.

But, with the amount of irregular immigration into the country from men from the Middle East, it is inevitable that the UK will face an increased terror threat and the ongoing Channel migrants crisis poses a great security threat to the country.