British counterterrorism police are investigating a series of attempted and completed arson attacks on Jewish and Iranian community premises in London. An attempted firebombing outside a building previously used by the Jewish community on Friday evening, combined with separate attacks this week on a synagogue and a Persian-language media organization, have prompted authorities to examine potential links between the incidents, though no injuries have been reported.
The incidents come amid heightened concerns about state-directed attacks on religious and ethnic communities in Britain. The United Kingdom has previously accused Iran of using criminal proxies to conduct attacks on European soil targeting opposition media outlets and the Jewish community.
Friday firebombing in Hendon
On Friday evening, a man left a bag containing three bottles of fluid outside a building in the Hendon area of London previously used by the Jewish community. He attempted to ignite the contents, police said, but the effort failed to fully ignite. He fled the scene, and no arrests have been made in the incident.
Attacks across London this week
The Friday incident is one of several targeting Jewish and Iranian community sites in London. On Wednesday, an attempted arson attack occurred on a synagogue in northwest London. That same day, an ignited container was thrown into a Persian-language media organization’s premises in Wembley, prompting charges against two men and a teenage boy. An earlier attack on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in Golders Green on March 23 resulted in charges against four people. No one has been injured across any of the incidents.
Investigation centers on potential links
Police said Saturday they are not currently treating the attacks as terrorism. Yet Counter Terrorism Policing London is leading the investigation because of the pattern of similarities, authorities said. Investigators are examining whether Iran is involved, particularly given the United Kingdom’s previous accusations that Iran uses criminal proxies to conduct attacks on European soil targeting opposition media outlets and the Jewish community. Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service says more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots were disrupted in the year to October.