Two separate and unrelated investigations have been conducted by counter-terror officers.
The common thread in these investigations is nationality – seven out of the eight people arrested are Iranian.
This is significant in the context of heightened warnings from the government and security services regarding Iranian activity on British soil.
Last year, Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, revealed that his organization and the police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots posing potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents since January 2022.
This increase was attributed to the ongoing situation in Iran’s own region.
«As events unfold in the Middle East, we will closely monitor the risk of an escalation in – or expansion of – Iranian state aggression in the UK,» he stated.
The implication is that while Iran deals with significant changes in its region, such as the decimation of its proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, and facing attacks from Israel, it may look for opportunities abroad.
Just a few weeks ago, security minister Dan Jarvis reiterated this warning in parliament.
«The threat from Iran is part of a broader context of the increasing, diversifying, and evolving threats that the UK faces from malign activities by various states,» Jarvis emphasized.
«The threats from states are becoming more interconnected, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies.
«Specifically focusing on Iran, the regime has become more aggressive in advancing its objectives and undermining ours.»
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During his address, Jarvis highlighted the National Security Act 2023, which includes provisions that «criminalize assisting a foreign intelligence service», among other things.
It is noteworthy that this act was utilized in one of the investigations over the weekend.
The suspects were apprehended under section 27 of the same act, allowing the police to detain individuals suspected of being «involved in foreign power threat activity».
These powers are evidently being actively employed.