4 arrested in London on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on Jewish community

Four men have been arrested in London on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service and allegedly spying on locations and individuals linked to the Jewish community, police said on Friday. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that one Iranian national and three dual British-Iranian nationals were detained as part of a counter-terrorism investigation into suspected foreign intelligence activity.

Authorities said the investigation centres on suspected surveillance activities targeting sites and individuals connected to Jewish communities across London. Counter Terrorism Policing London described the arrests as part of a long-running investigation aimed at disrupting hostile state activity. The suspects, aged 22, 40, 52 and 55, were detained from addresses in Barnet, Watford and Harrow, while searches are continuing at multiple locations including Wembley.

The men were held under the National Security Act introduced in 2023 to modernise laws against espionage and foreign interference. In a related development, six other men aged between 20 and 49 were arrested at the same Harrow location on suspicion of assisting an offender. All ten individuals have been taken into custody as the investigation continues.