Four men were arrested in the UK on suspicion of spying for Iran, with police linking the investigation to surveillance of Jewish community locations.
LONDON: British police have arrested four men on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence services to conduct surveillance on individuals and locations linked to the Jewish community.
One of the men is Iranian, while the other three hold dual British-Iranian nationality. The arrests were made in Barnet, north London, and in Watford, a town 15 miles north of the capital.
The detained men, aged between 22 and 55, are being held in custody. Police described the operation as part of a “long-running investigation”, indicating the alleged activities predated recent US and Israeli military action against Iran.
Six other individuals were also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, with searches ongoing. The UK’s domestic spy agency, MI5, has long warned of threats posed by Iran.
“The Jewish community and the wider public will understandably be concerned by today’s arrests,” interior minister Shabana Mahmood said on social media platform X. She added that police and security services would use all available powers to counter threats.
Last October, the head of MI5 stated the agency had tracked more than 20 Iranian-backed plots to kidnap or kill individuals in Britain. Last year, Britain and 13 allies warned of a surge in such plots by Iranian intelligence services.
Iran has repeatedly denied allegations of espionage and kidnap plots, calling them part of a hostile Western campaign. In a separate case last year, five men were arrested over a suspected plot to target specific premises, believed by British media to be the Israeli embassy, but were later released without charge.
The arrests come amid heightened community tensions. A charity reported a 4% rise in antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2025, making it the second-worst year on record. Two men were killed in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester last October.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently warned that conflict in the Middle East could be used to divide the country. He stated the government was ensuring communities and places of worship had appropriate protective security in place.
The Sun Malaysia
