Man and a woman arrested in London on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service
Searches have been carried out in north and north-west London
A man and a woman have been arrested in London on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service, the Metropolitan Police have said.
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A 42-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man were arrested at an address in north-west London yesterday.
Both were arrested on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service.
They were taken to a London police station and released on bail with strict conditions until late October.
Police said the arrests followed two searches carried out in June of residential addresses in north and north-west London.
A third search was carried out of another property on Wednesday following the arrests.
Police stressed the arrest is not linked to attacks this year targeting Jewish and Iranian communities across London, or to the upcoming High Holy Days period.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London said: “We know that news of these arrests will come as a concern to some members of the public, but I want to stress that we do not believe there to be any imminent threat to the wider public in connection with this matter.
“We’ve seen a marked increase in the tempo of our work linked to national security and state threats over the past year and this investigation is a continuation of that.
As we’ve shown here, if we suspect any activity could threaten the safety of the UK or the public, then we will not hesitate to take action.
“I would also like to remind the public that the overall terrorism threat level is at severe, so we continue to ask for everyone’s support through being vigilant, and if you see or hear anything that doesn’t look right, then please, trust your instincts, and report it to us.”