UK terror attack ‘hours away’ before Iranians arrested

Seven men were arrested with authorities reportedly fearing an ‘imminent’ attack, possibly on a synagogue, in the biggest counter-terrorism operation in years.

Police forensic officers search a house in Rochdale, England. Picture: Getty Images.

An Iranian terror attack was reportedly hours away from being launched in the UK before it was foiled by British counter-terrorism officers on Sunday (local time).

British police said they had arrested eight people, including seven Iranian nationals, on suspicion of “terrorism offences.”

Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the arrests, which come amid heightened concerns about Iranian activities on UK soil, as two major operations.

“These were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years,” Ms Cooper said.

The UK Telegraph reports that authorities feared the attack on a “specific premises” was imminent as speculation mounted that the target may have been a synagogue or another target linked to the Jewish community.

The Metropolitan Police force said five men aged between 29 and 46 were detained Saturday in various parts of England under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of preparing “a terrorist act.” Four are Iranian citizens and the nationality of the fifth was still being established.

The arrests were carried out in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area on suspicion of “terrorism offences”.

Police said the attack plot targeted a single location that was not being named “for operational reasons.” It said the premises was being given "advice and support."

🚨POLICE FORCE CONFIRMS ARRESTS OF ISLAMIC TERROR CELL

- 7 Iranians in total have been detained.
- Is the Islamic Republic of Iran sending men over?
- Our border is so weak anybody can get in

We know what's coming
These people will not stop pic.twitter.com/hYUUj2Po49

— Basil the Great (@Basil_TGMD) May 4, 2025

Dramatic footage of the arrests show counter-terrorism police swooping on a house in Rochdale wielding semi-automatic weapons; they are then shown marching a shirtless man away from the premises.

All the suspects were being questioned at police stations and have not been charged. Police said they are searching several properties in London, the Manchester area of northwest England and Swindon in western England.

Forensic officers in blue overalls were photographed at a house in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, where one of the men was detained. Three of the counterterror arrests took place in the Greater Manchester area, one in London and one in Swindon.

Rochdale resident Kyle Warren told Sky News he “heard a massive bang” and saw “20 or 30 police with guns” drag a man from a neighbouring house.

“We’ve seen a man getting pulled out from the back, basically got dragged down the side entry and thrown into all the bushes and then handcuffed,” he said.

Police forensic officers search a house in Rochdale as part of the counter-terror raids. Picture: Getty Images.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the force’s Counter Terrorism Command, said police are still working to establish a motive “as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public.” Separately, three other Iranian men, aged 39, 44 and 55, were arrested in London on suspicion of a national security offence as part of an unrelated investigation, police said.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said “these were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter-state threat and counter-terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years.”

Britain’s domestic intelligence service has warned of a growing threat from attackers linked to Tehran.

Sir Ken McCallum, head of MI5, recently warned that Iran was plotting attacks at ‘an unprecedented pace and scale’, and said there was a risk that Iranian state aggression could ‘broaden’ due to conflict in the Middle East.

In October, Sir Ken said his agents and police have tackled 20 “potentially lethal” plots backed by Iran since 2022, most aimed at Iranians in the U.K. who oppose the country’s authorities.

Ms Cooper said "the ongoing investigation is immensely important" to determine whether the arrests were connected to the Iranian state. She said “this reflects the complexity of the kinds of challenges to our national security that we continue to face.”

In March 2024, Pouria Zeraati, a presenter at a Farsi-language television station critical of the Iranian government, was stabbed in the leg outside his home in London. Two men were later arrested in Romania and charged over the attack.

The UK’s official terror threat level stands at “substantial,” the middle of a five-point scale, meaning an attack is likely.

AP.