UK slaps 12 new sanctions on Iranians accused of planning attacks on Britain

The UK has slapped 12 new sanctions on Iranians who have been accused of planning attacks on Britain.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced the latest sanctions this afternoon.

Those individuals targeted in the fresh set of sanctions include alleged members and associates of what the Government described as the Zindashti criminal network.

Last year, the EU described the Zindashti network as a criminal group connected to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).

It claimed it was responsible for "numerous acts of transnational repression", such as the assassinations of Iranian dissidents.

Whitehall accused the criminal network of involvement in Iranian-backed "hostile" activity.

The EU listings also include the network's boss Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, an Iranian narcotics trafficker and organised crime boss.

Over in the US, Zindashti is wanted for his alleged criminal activities, including the attempted murder for hire of two Maryland residents.

Five members of the Zarringhalam family, including Farhad, Fazlolah, Mansour, Nasser and Pouria, are also sanctioned.

They are said to have helped finance efforts to "destabilise" the UK.

Last year, Mansour, Nasser and Fazlolah Zarringhalam were sanctioned by the US last year for their activity in Iran’s "shadow banking" network.

The sanctions by the UK Government today also impact several exchange houses and financial operators.

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Berelian Exchange and GCM Exchange, companies linked to the criminal network, were also sanctioned on Monday.

Others accused of "threatening, planning or conducting attacks" in Britain and beyond include Turkish national Ekrem Oztunc, Azerbaijani national Namiq Salifov and Iranian national Nihat Abdul Kadir Asan.

The sanctions will include asset freezes and travel bans, as well as director disqualification orders.

Those sanctioned had provided services to individuals who had offered their services to bodies connected to destabilising activities.

In the face of international limits, such activities allowed the Iranian-linked network to access and move around funds, the Government said.

Iran has continued to deny involvement in such attacks, both in the UK and internationally.

Back in April, counter terror police announced they had launched an investigation into Iranian-linked proxies in connection with a string of arson attacks on London synagogues and other Jewish sites.

Following the incident, the Metropolitan Police's deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans confirmed Counter Terrorism Policing is leading all of the investigations into the string of incidents in recent weeks.

The probe was created after a firebombing was carried out on the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow.

In the wake of the Golders Green stabbing in April, Britain's terrorism threat level has been upgraded from "substantial" to "severe".

Security chiefs believe an attack is highly likely within the next six months following an increase in "Islamist and extreme right-wing" ideology in the UK.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said police are seeing an "elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals" during an "unpredictable global situation" sparked by conflict in the Middle East.