Iran10 September, 20262 min read
British Counter-Terrorism Police Arrest Two in London Over Assisting Iran’s Intelligence Service
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Two suspects—42-year-old woman and 60-year-old man—arrested in London on Iran intelligence service suspicions. Police conducted searches at addresses in north and north-west London during the NSA probe.
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London arrests linked to Iran
British counter-terrorism police arrested two people in London on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service under the National Security Act, with a 42-year-old woman detained in north London and a 60-year-old man arrested in northwest London on Wednesday. The Metropolitan Police said the arrests followed two searches carried out on 24 June at residential addresses in north and north-west London, and that a third property in north-west London was searched on 9 September.
“We do not believe there to be any imminent threat to the wider public in connection with this matter.”
Both suspects were taken to a London police station and released on bail under strict conditions until late October, as police said the investigation was not connected to attacks earlier this year targeting sites linked to Jewish and Iranian communities across London. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said she does not believe there is “any imminent threat to the wider public” in connection with the matter.
Police stress no imminent threat
The Metropolitan Police framed the arrests as separate from earlier incidents, saying the investigation was not connected to “any of the incidents or attacks earlier this year” targeting venues and buildings linked to Jewish and Iranian communities across London. In the same statement, Commander Helen Flanagan said police have seen “a marked increase in the tempo of our work linked to national security and state threats over the past year,” describing the probe as “a continuation of that.”
Sky News reported the arrests were made by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing London and that the suspects were held on suspicion of an offence under section 3 of the NSA, 2023, before being released on bail with strict conditions until late October. The Jerusalem Post similarly said the investigation was not connected to earlier incidents targeting Jewish community or sites linked to Iran, and it described a wave of attacks between March and May that began with an arson attack on Jewish community ambulances in London.
Broader security context and risk
The Telegraph placed the arrests in a wider context of “heightened suspicion and warnings about the threat to Britain from Iranian agents,” saying last month counter-terrorism police charged an alleged Iranian spy with assisting a foreign intelligence service. The Telegraph named the charged man as Vahid Aberi, 39, from Liverpool, and said he was arrested in the Birmingham area under the National Security Act 2023 for conduct intended to materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities between Dec 17 last year and July 16 this year.
The National added that two Iranians, Nematollah Shahsavani, 41, and Alireza Farasati, 22, were to go on trial in London next year accused of spying on the Israeli embassy and Jewish targets under the orders of Iran's intelligence services. Against that backdrop, Commander Helen Flanagan told the public that if police suspect activity could threaten “the safety of the UK or the public,” they “will not hesitate to take action,” while also reminding people that the overall terrorism threat level is at severe.