LONDON – The arrest of a businessman in London has all the connotations of an international espionage story that questions terrorism and the nuclear threat. The citizen, a 60-year-old with a British passport, is accused of attempting to import uranium into the UK “with intent to use it”.
The Discovery at Heathrow Airport
Counter-terrorism came to him after the radioactive substance was discovered at Heathrow Airport in the days around Christmas in a shipment of scrap destined for an Iran-registered UK-based company. According to investigative sources, the material’s journey began in Pakistan and then passed through Oman before reaching Europe.
Released on bail
The suspect ended up handcuffed at a flat in the Cheshire area, Manchester, on Saturday morning and was released on bail until April after lengthy questioning on Sunday. At the moment there is no evidence of the involvement of others or a possible direct threat to the population, but concern is high. Richard Smith, Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Commander, said: “The discovery of a very small amount of uranium in a package at Heathrow Airport is clearly of concern, but demonstrates the effectiveness of the procedures and controls being put in place to ensure the security of the.” to ensure citizens”.
Very high tension between UK and Iran
The first consequences of the arrest will therefore be primarily political, affecting the already high tensions between London and Tehran following the execution of a British-Iranian national accused of spying for MI6.
For the past few months, His Majesty’s intelligence services had sounded the alarm about the mortal danger posed by journalists from Iran International, an independent Persian all-news company based in London, and accused the ayatollahs’ regime of being behind at least 10 conspiracies , killing or kidnapping opponents living in the kingdom have been foiled in the last year. In the coming weeks, the UK government is expected to announce sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard Corps accused of supporting terrorist activities abroad.