Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has thanked police and security services "for the action they have taken to keep our country safe" following two major counter-terrorism operations.Eight men, including seven Iranian nationals, were arrested in separate investigations across England on Saturday."These are serious events that demonstrate the ongoing requirement to adapt our response to national security threats," Cooper said.Five men were arrested on Saturday as part of a "pre-planned" investigation into a plot to "target a specific premises", the Metropolitan Police said.Four of the men are Iranian nationals - two aged 29, one aged 40 and one aged 46. The nationality and age of the fifth man is still being established.WATCH THE CLIP ABOVE FOR MORE
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00:01So, how significant are these two operations? Is there an ongoing threat to the public?
00:07These were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter-state threat and counter-terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years.
00:18I want to thank the police and security services who have shown the most impressive professionalism and expertise in carrying out these operations to keep the country safe.
00:30And we support the police and the security agencies in the ongoing work that they are doing.
00:35The most important thing is to protect our national security.
00:39And what kind of threat are we seeing from the Iranian state? And are both these operations linked to the Iranian state?
00:48Well, these are major operations that have taken place. And the ongoing investigation is immensely important.
00:56Of course, it involves Iranian nationals in both investigations.
01:01And we're supporting the police and the security agencies in the investigations that they are taking, in the security assessments that they are doing.
01:10But this reflects the complexity of the kinds of challenges to our national security that we continue to face, that we have set out.
01:19And that's why protecting our national security, including supporting these extremely professional operations and investigations, remains our top priority.