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The Israeli embassy in London was the target of a terror plot by Iranian nationals who were arrested by British counterterrorism police on Saturday, according to people familiar with the investigation.
Five Iranians were detained in co-ordinated arrests across England on Saturday, while three other Iranians were detained in London in a separate operation.
Until now UK authorities had not indicated what the suspects were targeting, though the Metropolitan Police on Sunday said the investigation related to “a suspected plot to target specific premises”.
But people familiar with the investigation said on Wednesday that the five Iranians arrested across England were suspected of being part of a cell that was in the final stages of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Kensington, west London.
They indicated that the suspects may have been hours away from executing their plans when police intervened.
Security minister Dan Jarvis on Tuesday called the arrests “some of the largest counterterrorism actions that we have seen in recent times”.
The Israeli embassy in London declined to comment.
This is a developing story