Seven Iranians arrested in British counter-terrorism probes

British counter-terrorism police have arrested eight men including seven Iranians in two separate operations, officers said, in what the interior minister called some of the biggest investigations of their kind in recent years.

Five men, four of them Iranian nationals, were arrested on Saturday over a suspected plot to target specific premises, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Sunday without naming the site.

The men, aged between 29 and 40, were arrested in West London and the English towns and cities of Swindon, Stockport, Rochdale and Manchester, police said. There was no information on the nationality of the fifth man.

“We are exploring various lines of enquiry to … identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter,” Commander Dominic Murphy, who heads London police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said.

Read more: Reuters