British law enforcement made a series of sweeping arrests of arsonists and conspirators in the spate of attacks against UK Jewish, Israeli, and Iranian dissident sites this week, and while the arrests and preemptive actions are welcome, these efforts are only treatments for the symptoms rather than the underlying disease.
Since the March 23 arson against four Hatzalah ambulances in Golders Green, the following have been targeted in London: two synagogues, a formerly Jewish-owned business, the Israeli embassy, and Iran International’s offices. In addition, the door of a Jewish-owned shop was set ablaze in Hertfordshire on Sunday, though it is still unknown whether that particular incident was related to the London attacks.
A total of 25 people have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police and Counter Terrorism Policing. Eight of them have been charged, one convicted, and the rest remain under investigation. Little is known about the suspects, save that many appear to be teenagers from Watford. However, the police have repeatedly indicated a strong belief that the perpetrators do not appear to be motivated by any ideology, and they may instead be in the pay of other actors.
“One of our key lines of inquiry is whether criminal proxies, that is to say people being paid money to carry out a crime, are being used to commit any of these arsons,” Senior National Coordinator of Counter Terrorism Policing Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said on Tuesday in a statement.
British law enforcement has made repeated appeals to the public not to accept any bounties to commit crimes – indicating that the line of investigation is undergirded by legitimate concern.
Evans also rightly acknowledged on Sunday that the Iranian regime had, in the past, routinely used criminals as proxies. Indeed, the targets match the profile of those usually attacked by such Islamic regime pawns.
In May 2024, Sweden announced that the Islamic Republic was using criminal networks as proxies to target Iranian dissidents, Israelis, and Jews.
In July 2024, a joint statement by 14 states, including the UK, condemned Iran for using criminals to attack dissidents and Jews.
Iran has not claimed responsibility for the recent spate of arson attacks, rather a brand-new organization has emerged to provide a thin veneer of plausible deniability. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI) bears a logo exhibiting the standard hallmarks of an Iranian proxy: a fist clenching a rifle against the backdrop of a globe.
Despite only appearing in March, HAYI already has enough sway to use Iran-linked “axis of resistance” channels to distribute its propaganda. The group makes repeated mention of supposed American and Israeli crimes in Iran, and sometimes justifies its attacks on these premises.
Evans acknowledged the reports that HAYI may, in fact, be linked to Iran. Security Minister Dan Jarvis also acknowledged “public speculation” and assured the government would not allow hostile activity on British soil.
With an Islamic regime hand guiding the arsonists, any arrests are akin to extinguishing the matches but not confiscating the matchbox.
British law enforcement took serious steps in preemptively arresting nine individuals this week who were plotting an attack, but the ultimate mastermind is able to move on to another plot.
London Mayor working with police to enhance Jewish safety
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Wednesday that he was working with the Community Security Trust and Metropolitan Police to enhance the response, but that building higher walls would only result in a Jewish community under siege. However, the solidarity and bridge-building in British society espoused by Khan are irrelevant when a foreign actor is the source of the strife.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X/Twitter on Tuesday that his government wouldn’t relent in the “fight against antisemitism and terror,” and that “any perpetrators will feel the full force of the law,” but despite these words, there is a limit to how far they will go.
Last Wednesday, amid the attacks, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council met with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and urged her to take action against the threat Iran posed to their communities.
The groups called for the government to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which orchestrates such attacks throughout Europe. Policing and Crime Shadow Minister Matt Vickers echoed the sentiment, warning that a response was needed against “a concerted campaign against British Jews.”
Yet when a House of Lords amendment for the Crime and Policing Bill to review proscribing “Iran-related entities” was placed before the House of Commons on Monday, it was rejected by 294 MPs to 61.
It is not as though the UK is unaware that Iran had been attacking Jews and Iranian dissidents on its soil until the emergence of HAYI.
In 2024, the UK published an Intelligence and Security Committee report detailing that Iran used proxy groups and criminals to attack its enemies, and that Tehran had allegedly used the method at least 15 times since 2022 to attempt to murder or kidnap Jewish or Iranian dissident UK nationals or residents.
IRGC able to deny Australian plans
In October, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said in an annual threat update that the intelligence organization had tracked “more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots” since his last presentation a year prior. McCallum noted that the UK was not the only target of Iranian “transnational aggression,” with similar attacks being exposed in Australia.
Yet when the Australian Security Intelligence Organization alleged in August that Iran had orchestrated at least two antisemitic attacks on its soil – the December 2024 Adass Israel Synagogue arson attack in Melbourne and the October 2024 Lewis’ Continental Kitchen arson attack in Sydney – the IRGC had more plausible deniability.
This deniability stemmed from the absence of Australian criminals acting at the Islamic regime’s behest, publishing propaganda videos explaining that Jews were being targeted because of Israel’s actions in Iran. Nor was there a body involved that seemed to evoke proxies such as Hezbollah.
Based on intelligence reports from ASIO about two incidents, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata and expelled him, withdrew its own diplomatic mission, and resolved to proscribe the IRGC. Albanese’s government followed through with this commitment on November 27 by having the IRGC listed as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Even before the wave of London arson attacks, the British government was made aware of at least 35 different attacks by Iran on UK citizens and residents.
Since the March 23 Golders Green incident sparked a wave of arsons, suspicion has only continued to mount that Iran has been involved in attacks on Jews, Israelis, and Iranian dissidents this year.
If evidence emerges, one might think that it would be impossible to ignore, but the British government has already ignored Iranian violations for years.
While British Jews are under siege, their government appears to have decided that the peril and anxiety they face is a small price to pay to avoid incurring Iran’s wrath or appearing to be siding with US President Donald Trump.
Regardless of the Met and CTP’s best efforts, without the government addressing the source of the attacks, the attacks are likely to continue.