Report: This was the target of the Iranian terror cell’s planned attack in England

The British Times reported that an Iranian terror cell, arrested in a major counterterrorism operation in London, had planned to attack the Israeli embassy in the city’s western district. The Metropolitan Police detained eight individuals, including seven Iranian nationals, last weekend, with five suspects specifically targeting the embassy, a high-security diplomatic site in Kensington. The operation, described by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper as one of the “largest counterterrorism and counter-state threat operations in recent years,” involved hundreds of officers and disrupted what authorities believe was an imminent attack.

The arrests, conducted across Swindon, west London, Stockport, Rochdale, and Manchester, followed intelligence indicating the group’s intent to strike a “specific premises,” later identified as the Israeli embassy. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, noted the investigation remains active to determine motives and assess any further public risk. In a separate but concurrent operation, three additional Iranian nationals, aged 39, 44, and 55, were arrested in London under the National Security Act for unrelated threat activities, highlighting heightened concerns about Iran-backed aggression in the UK.

This incident follows a recent attempt on the same embassy, with Abdullah Sabah Albadri, 33, charged on April 30, 2025, for trying to breach its grounds with two knives, intending to “send a message” to Israel regarding the Gaza conflict. The embassy has long been a target, notably in 1994, when a Hezbollah-linked car bomb, tied to Iranian operatives, injured 20 people just days after the AMIA bombing in Argentina. MI5 has warned of increasing Iranian plots, with 20 foiled since 2022, including the 2024 stabbing of an Iranian journalist in London. The arrests underscore the persistent threat to Jewish and Israeli targets in the UK, with the embassy expressing gratitude to British security forces for their vigilance.