A SUSPECTED Iranian terror attack that forced a massive armed police operation was reportedly just hours from being unleashed.
Five men, including four Iranians, were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of plotting a terror attack on a “specific” UK target in one of the largest counter-terrorism operations for years, the home secretary said.
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The authorities feared that the attack was imminent, according to reports in The Telegraph.
They suspects were seized in Swindon, west London, Stockport, Rochdale and Manchester, and remain in police custody.
Three more Iranian men were arrested in London in a separate but simultaneous operation over concerns they would flee the country or destroy key evidence.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Sunday night: “These were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter-state threats and counter terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years.”
Police said they had identified the site they believe the men were plotting against, but did not reveal it for security reasons.
Footage of the arrests last night show geared up counter-terrorism police swooping on a house in Rochdale.
Later clips show them frogmarching a topless man away from the premises.
The street remained cordoned-off on Sunday with forensic officers scouring the property – which had a smashed window and the front door broken in two.
Photos from the Swindon operation show Met Police officers piling onto a a suspected terrorist outside a Costa in the town centre.
Plain-clothed cops could be seen searching the man as he lay on his back, with shocked locals watching on from a distance.
The five suspects arrested in relation to the “imminent” plot were being held on suspicion of preparation of an act of terrorism, the Met said.
They include two aged 29, one aged 40 and one aged 46 – and the age and nationality of the fifth suspect is yet to be established.
Four of the men were detained under the Terrorism Act and a fifth was arrested under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Pace).
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated.
“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.”
In the other operation, two men aged 39 and 44, were arrested at separate north-west London, and a 55-year-old nabbed from a third west London address.
The London trio were arrested and detained under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023 and remain in custody, a police statement said.
Sir Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, warned back in October that Iran could turn on UK targets if it felt Britain was too enthusiastic in its support for Israel.
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In August, Matt Jukes, the head of Counter Terror Policing, warned that Britain is facing an increase in plots by hostile states.
He said Iranian dissidents and diaspora communities have been “clearly at risk of kidnapping or assassination”.
Counter terror police have investigated 15 of these cases alongside MI5.
MI5 has responded to 20 plots backed by Iran since 2022, it was reported.
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