Met Police on extreme alert over Iran-linked terrorism threat amid WW3 fears – Daily Star

Met Police have said they are extremely alert of any threat to Britain amid the ongoing crisis with Iran and fears of World War 3 .

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said they are monitoring the developing situation in the Middle East.

And she confirmed UK counter-terror policing Neil Basu has been in discussions with the security agencies and government bodies about the crisis.

Iran is known to have a wide-reaching terror network and they are known to have plotted suggested they could launch attacks on Britain.

MI5 foiled a terror plot when Hezbollah militants linked to Iran were found stockpiling tonnes of explosive material on the outskirts of London in 2015.

It comes after Iran launched missiles at US military bases in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Tehrans top general Qassem Soleimani.

And meanwhile, a Ukrainian airliner crashed in Iran overnight killing 176 people including three Brits.

Dame Cressida said: "It's a very worrying time clearly and we have lots of people of Iranian and Iraqi heritage and the surrounding areas in London, so there's lots for us to think about, lots for us to be alert to.

"What I can say is so far in London we have had no issues directly associated with this, there was one quite small protest.

"But of course we're extremely alert to what this could possibly lead to, but it's a very complex situation. At the moment there's absolutely no impact on London."

The top cop, herself a former chief of counter-terrorism policing, said the force is "very adept" at measuring possible domestic threats linked to international events.

She added: Being the international city that we are, with the multiplicity of communities and also the threats that we have had to face over the years which change and morph all the time, we are very, very adept at seeing what's happening around the world, reaching out into communities and looking at the possible threats and risks that might come.

"That's what we're doing on a day by day basis, and in response to this."

The UK's terror threat level remains at substantial, meaning an attack is likely, after it was lowered in November.

It comes after a top Royal Navy admiral warned Britain must be ready for war to Daily Star Online.

Tehran and its satellite organisations still operate across Europe with the dead general Soleimani being the spider at the centre of a web of terror networks.

And in October, 2018, France froze Iranian assets in response to an alleged bomb plot against an opposition group in Paris.

British intelligence sources have said Iran is believed to pose to the biggest state threat to UK national security aside form China and Russia.

The crisis continues to unfold in the Middle East as the UK condemned Irans actions overnight while also calling for de-escalation.

Iran has also been blamed for cyber attacks on the UK, including an attack on the Post Office and the hacking of MPs and Peers.

The group responsible has been linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Iran claims to have 120,000 trained cyber warfare operatives amid fears of attacks on the West.

And just last week, the US Library service was attacked by Iranian-linked hackers who issued a chilling warning with a picture of a bloodied US President Donald Trump.

Royal Navy warships have already been sent to the Gulf to renew escort duty for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The world now waits to how the US will respond following the Iranian attack, but Trump has assured all is well.

UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab told Tehran "not to repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks".

The 22 ballistic missiles were fired at bases including Erbil in northern Iraq and the Al Asad Air Base.

Raab added: "We condemn this attack on Iraqi military bases hosting Coalition - including British - forces. We are concerned by reports of casualties and use of ballistic missiles.

We urge Iran not to repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks, and instead to pursue urgent de-escalation.

A war in the Middle East would only benefit Daesh and other terrorist groups.

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed the no UK personnel were affected.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the attacks were a "slap on the face" for the US.

He said: "Military action like this is not sufficient. What is important is ending the corrupting presence of America in the region."

It is feared a conflict in the Gulf could spiral into World War 3 with the term even trending last week following the death of Soleimani.

Iran's ambassador to the UK, Hamid Baeidinejad, said the nation was not seeking a war but that its armed forces are "ready to respond to against any adventurism".

Baeidinejad said in a tweet: "Iran in an act of self-defence as enshrined in the UN Charter, attacked two US military bases.

"Iran does not seek escalation or war.

"Our armed forces are quite ready to forcefully respond against any adventurism.

"Iran's People and government are fully behind their armed forces."

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Met Police on extreme alert over Iran-linked terrorism threat amid WW3 fears - Daily Star

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