Revealed: Iranian man arrested over ‘foiled terror plot on Israeli embassy’ is asylum seeker who was living in taxpayer-funded house

One of five Iranian men arrested this month over an alleged plot to attack Israel‘s embassy in London is an asylum seeker living in a taxpayer-funded house, The Mail on Sunday Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Footage on social media showed Special Forces and armed police dragging the semi-naked 40-year-old from the house in Rochdale on May 3.

He was one of five Iranian men aged between 24 and 46 arrested under terrorism powers that day, with others held in Manchester, Stockport, Swindon and London.I

It was later reported that the embassy in Kensington, west London, was the target of an attack that the alleged plotters were just hours away from executing. MI5 says Iran has been behind at least 20 terror plots in Britain since January 2022.

Now an MoS investigation has revealed the 40-year-old Iranian held in Rochdale lived in a terraced home managed by the British firm Serco, which houses asylum seekers around the country on behalf of the Home Office.

One former asylum seeker, who lived at the house nine years ago, said tenants did not pay any rent or bills because Serco covered all the costs.

Asylum seekers arrive in Serco vans after staying in hotels. They stay until they get permission to stay in Britain, at which point they find their own accommodation.

 Iranian is believed to have arrived in Britain illegally in a small boat and claimed asylum.

Police chiefs and Whitehall officials fear the Calais migrant route is being exploited by state-backed Iranian terrorists to commit atrocities on UK soil.

There were fears last night that other members of the alleged plot may also be asylum seekers who crossed the Channel in small boats.

Terrorism expert Anthony Glees, of Buckingham University, said: ‘The Calais boat route self-evidently presents a clear and present danger to national security. I have always said migrants should be met by warships, not lifeboats. A dedicated agent of a hostile state will use this route to come into the country.’

Serco and the Home Office both declined to comment last night.