Iranian massacre of Jewish community thwarted at last minute: Seven suspects arrested in UK

British special forces worked over the weekend together with MI5 intelligence agents and counter-terrorism units to thwart a large-scale terror attack that threatened Jewish communities in the country. Seven Iranian nationals were arrested in coordinated raids in several cities, including Manchester, Stockport, Swindon, Rochdale and London, after receiving information that they were only hours before the massacre.

According to reports in The Times, The Sun and the Daily Mail, the terror squads were planning to carry out attacks on Jewish sites, most likely synagogues or community centers. A senior security source said there was a strong suspicion that the British military had taken part in the arrests, although the Ministry of Defence declined to comment officially.

In a dramatic raid in Rochdale on Saturday night, residents described a huge explosion, the use of explosives and shouting, when an armed team broke into a residence and arrested the suspect. A resident of the neighborhood told the Daily Mail: "The children ran home screaming that there were people outside with helmets, masks and guns. A moment after that, there was a loud explosion and shouting."

In another arrest in Swindon, according to testimony published by the BBC, six plainclothes security personnel arrived at a café, ordered coffee and pastry, and after following the suspect as he exited, they jumped on him and arrested him.

British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that the operation reflected "one of the most prominent threats to the security of the kingdom in recent years," adding that the investigation also included Iranian citizens, "which indicates the complexity of the threats to our national security."

A former MI5 agent noted that the SAS unit known as "Whoever Dares Wins" was apparently also involved, and that special means were used to infiltrate the suspects' homes. According to the report in The Sun, seven of the suspects are Iranian citizens who have been held under prolonged surveillance in connection with their suspicious activities.

The operation comes against the backdrop of an increase in attempted attacks by Iran in Europe. The head of the London Police's counter-terrorism department, Dominic Murphy, made it clear that this was a real threat and that "the investigation is only at the beginning." Police sources expressed concern that there may have been additional accomplices or other terror cells that have not yet been exposed.

MI5 recently reported that it had thwarted about 20 Iranian attempts to carry out attacks on British soil in the past year alone. Most of them were directed against dissidents, but now the targets appear to have expanded.

The suspects, aged between 29 and 55, are being held under investigation, and police are continuing search and questioning operations at other locations across the UK to prevent any further danger.