Reports: Arrested Iranian suspects may have been ‘hours away’ from ‘major attack’ on UK synagogue; no confirmation

British media reports say that speculation is mounting that the eight men, including seven Iranian nationals, who were arrested in the UK over the weekend had been “hours away” from carrying out an attack on a synagogue. There is no confirmation of the reports.

According to The Telegraph, “the target may have been a synagogue or another target linked to the Jewish community.”

The Daily Mail says a “major attack” was planned.

Britain’s counter-terrorism police arrested the eight men in two separate operations.

On Saturday, five men, four of whom are Iranian nationals, were detained on suspicion of terrorism offenses over a plot to target specific premises. The arrests were made in Swindon, west London, Stockport, Rochdale and Manchester.

In a separate operation on the same day, three Iranian nationals were arrested in London as part of another counter-terrorism investigation, the Metropolitan Police said in a separate statement.

Experts tell the Daily Mail that elite SAS soldiers were likely to have joined the arrest raids, with sources telling the outlet a “major attack” was planned.