British police said Sunday that they had arrested eight people, including seven Iranian nationals, on suspicion of "terrorism offences."

Britain's interior minister Yvette Cooper described the arrests, which come amid heightened concerns about Iranian activities on UK soil, as two major operations.

In one operation, five men -- four of them Iranian -- were arrested on suspicion of "preparation of a terrorist act", London's Metropolitan police said in a statement.

The arrests were carried out in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area on suspicion of "terrorism offences".

"These were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years," Cooper said.

The Daily........

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