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Associated Press

UK police said on Sunday they are investigating whether a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London are the work of Iranian proxies, as the country’s chief rabbi said British Jews are facing a campaign of violence and intimidation.
The Metropolitan Police force says counterterror officers are investigating fires at synagogues and other sites linked to the Jewish community, as well as an attack on a Persian-language media company.
No one has been injured in the blazes, the latest of which caused minor damage to a north London synagogue on Saturday night.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said the attacks had been claimed online by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.
“We are aware of public reporting that suggests this group may have links to Iran. As you would expect, we will continue to explore that question as our investigation evolves,” she said.
“I’ve spoken previously about the Iranian regime’s use of criminal proxies, and we’re considering whether this tactic is being used here in London,” she added.
Israel’s government has described Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, whose name means the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, as a recently founded group with suspected links to “an Iranian proxy” that has also claimed responsibility for synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The police force has deployed extra uniformed and plainclothes officers to northwest London after attacks in the past month on synagogues, Jewish charity ambulances and a Persian-language media organisation critical of Iran’s government.

In the most serious incident, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity were torched on March 23 in the Golders Green neighbourhood.
No one has been injured in any of the incidents, which all happened within a few miles of each other. Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said on social media that “a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum”.
“Thank God, no lives have been lost, but we cannot, and must not, wait for that to change before we understand just how dangerous this moment is for all of our society,” he said.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attacks and pledged that “those responsible will be found and brought to justice”.
“This is abhorrent and it will not be tolerated. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain,” Starmer said.
Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia also posted a video claiming Israel’s London embassy was going to be attacked with drones carrying dangerous substances. Police said the embassy was not attacked but the force closed the nearby Kensington Gardens park on Friday as officers examined discarded items including two jars containing powder. Police said nothing harmful was found.
The UK has accused Iran of using 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.
Some security experts say Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia is probably a flag of convenience rather than a coherent group and its claims should be treated with caution.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes said any “thugs for hire” who carried out such attacks would face justice.
“Let’s be really clear - it’s a mug’s game,” he said. “That’s what people who are now serving long prison sentences have found out and the same fate awaits those responsible for these recent crimes.”


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Britain

Burnt ambulances along a street in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London on March 23, after the volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation were set on fire overnight. Photo: AFP

London’s Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans, left, deputy commissioner Matt Jukes, centre, with deputy commissioner and operational director for preparedness and response for the London Fire Brigade Mathew Walker, near the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, northwest London on Sunday. Photo: AFP

UK’s counterterror police probe another London arson attack

Police on Saturday cordon off the area outside of the business following an arson attack in Hendon, north London. Photo: AFP

A police forensics officer works at the Finchley Reform Synagogue in the North Finchley area of north London on Wednesday after an attempted arson attack. Photo: AFP

A police officer looks at a glass bottle next to the business  “Jewish futures” in Hendon, north London on Saturday. Photo: AFP

UK police arrest 2 men over Jewish ambulances arson attack

The burnt out remains of Hatzola ambulances at the Jewish Community Ambulance service in Golders Green, after an apparent arson attack on four ambulances on Monday. Photo: dpa

A member of the Jewish community walks past the burnt ambulances in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

The attack on Monday targeted ambulances run by the volunteer organisation Hatzola, which provides free medical transport and emergency response to those living in north London. Photo: dpa

France investigates possible Iran link after bomb attack foiled outside Bank of America

Private security members work next to a police van outside Bank of America’s Paris offices on Monday. Photo: Reuters

London police investigate attack on Jewish ambulances as hate crime

Burnt ambulances, run by a Jewish non-profit organisation, are pictured in a street in London on Monday after an arson attack. Photo: AFP

Members of the Jewish community gather following an arson attack on a Jewish ambulance service in London. Photo: EPA

Police in London speak to people near where four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organisation were set on fire. Photo: Reuters

UK PM Starmer says ‘not going to yield’ to Trump’s Mideast war threats

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during the weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons in London on Wednesday. Photo: Handout / PRU / AFP

Pedestrians walk along the City of London in London, Britain, in March. The UK and US concluded a trade deal last year capping US tariffs at 10 per cent on most British manufactured goods. Photo: EPA

A US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber takes off from RAF Fairford in southwest England on March 15. Fairford is one of two bases the UK has given the US permission to use for a “specific and limited defensive purpose”. Photo: AFP

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Metropolitan Police said counterterror officers are investigating whether a string of fires at synagogues are the work of Iranian proxies


Metropolitan Police said counterterror officers are investigating whether a string of fires at synagogues are the work of Iranian proxies.


UK police investigating Iran link to arson attacks on Jewish sites in London

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Metropolitan Police said counterterror officers are investigating whether a string of fires at synagogues are the work of Iranian proxies

Metropolitan Police said counterterror officers are investigating whether a string of fires at synagogues are the work of Iranian proxies