Anti-terrorist police arrested four men in London in early morning raids on Friday, Scotland Yard said. The BBC, citing Home Office sources, said the men were linked to a dissident Iranian group opposed to the Tehran government. An police source told Reuters the four were of Middle-eastern origin and were recruiting in Britain for a "particular cause". "There is nothing to suggest they were planning any sort of attack in this country," the source said.
The source added that they were not linked to international terrorism or any al Qaeda group. They had been arrested after police received information they might be inciting others to commit offences abroad.
The arrests followed searches at two addresses in Barnet, north London, and one in nearby Finchley.
Two of the men were arrested in a vehicle in Barnet, police added. All are being held at a central London police station. Britain has detained more than 700 people under anti-terrorism laws since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.