Four arrested on suspicion of spying on Jewish community for Iran, Met Police says

Four men suspected of carrying out surveillance on the Jewish community have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, the Metropolitan Police has said.

The investigation relates to the surveillance of locations and individuals.

Officers arrested one Iranian and three dual British/Iranian nationals, shortly after 1am in Barnet and Harrow in north London, and Watford in Hertfordshire on Friday.

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The men were arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service as part of a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into suspected National Security Act offences.

Two men, aged 40 and 55, were arrested at addresses in the Barnet area, along with a 52-year-old man in Watford and a 22-year-old man in Harrow, according to a police statement.

Officers said searches were taking place in Barnet, Watford and another address in Wembley.

Police activity has been seen at a semi-detached house and a nearby parked Skoda in Finchley, as well as a property at Brookdene Avenue in Watford.

Another six men, aged between 20 and 49, were arrested at the same location in Harrow on suspicion of assisting an offender. One of the men was further arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. All 10 men remain in custody.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: "Today's arrests are part of a long-running investigation and part of our ongoing work to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it.

"We understand the public may be concerned, in particular the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us."

It comes as the US and Israeli military continue to launch airstrikes on Iran, which has retaliated with drone attacks across the Middle East.

The UK is not involved in offensive operations but is providing defensive assistance to allies in the region.

In a statement on X, Sir Keir Starmer praised the police and security services, adding: "There are some who will use moments like this to divide people. It is vital that we now come together as a nation, united in our common purpose."

Speaking in the Commons on Monday, the prime minister hinted at the challenge faced by counter-terrorism officers.

"In the UK, Iran has directed threats toward dissidents and the Jewish community," the prime minister said.

"Over the last year alone, Iran-backed plots against people in the UK have been disrupted. We must be clear about the threat that Iran poses."

In October, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum described an increase in state threats and said his officers had "tracked more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots" in just one year.

Commenting on the arrests, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said: "The alleged attempts to spy on the British Jewish community highlight the foul antisemitism at the heart of the fundamentalist regime in Tehran."

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Jewish groups, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said they were grateful to police, but the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also criticised the government, saying ministers had not "taken seriously" the Iranian threat, which had been "long recognised by British Jews".

"The government's failure to keep its promise to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)... has sent the message that support for the brutal Iranian regime and its Jew-hating and West-hating ideology is perfectly acceptable in Britain," the CAA added in a statement.

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