Iran-linked group claims responsibility for London synagogue arson

Counter-terrorism police are investigating after four Jewish ambulances were set on fire outside a London synagogue early on Monday. anti-semitic hate crime.

According to a statement from Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams of the Metropolitan Police, the attack occurred at around 1:45 a.m. in the Golders Green neighbourhood, where Hatzolah Ambulance, a volunteer emergency service run by the Jewish community, was deliberately set on fire in a synagogue parking lot.

“it arson attack This is being considered an anti-Semitic hate crime. This is a devastating event for our Jewish communities,” Williams said. He added that although the incident has not yet been formally declared terrorism, “the investigation is now being led by counter-terrorism police… and all avenues of investigation remain open.”

A video circulating online purported to be the Iran-linked group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, which claimed responsibility. Recent attacks on Jewish sites In Belgium and the Netherlands, credit for the London attack is being taken, according to the Jewish Chronicle.

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The charred remains of an ambulance belonging to Hatzolah, a Jewish community organization, that was set on fire in an incident that police say is being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime, in northwest London, Britain, on March 23, 2026. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)

Authorities are investigating possible links to a newly emerged suspicious group relations with iran. “We are aware of an online claim by a group claiming responsibility for this attack,” Williams said. “Establishing the authenticity and accuracy of this claim will be a priority… but it is not something we can confirm at this point.”

Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital that the attack reflects years of policy failures to confront Iranian activity on British soil. He said, “UK governments have completely failed in their primary duty to secure the home front. Iranian terrorist activity in the UK has been known about for years, yet no significant steps have been taken to sanction the IRGC or restrict the ability of entities linked to the regime to function within British society. We have created the conditions for terrorism to flourish.”

He argued that Britain’s comprehensive approach to the conflict with Iran – attempting to maintain distance while avoiding direct confrontation – has further emboldened Tehran. “The current policy on the war in Iran is misleading. The government is pretending the UK is not involved. However, the Iranian regime does not believe in neutrality and has made its position clear to us: ready to target.”

Joe Truisman, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a post on Twitter that “My initial assessment is that this attack could potentially be linked to the Iran-linked group Ashab al-Yamin, which has carried out numerous attacks against Jewish institutions across Europe since the war began… Hopefully this is something isolated, but the possibility of this group’s involvement deserves to be investigated.”

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The charred remains of an ambulance belonging to Hatzolah, a Jewish community organization, that was set on fire in an incident that police say is being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime, in northwest London, Britain, on March 23, 2026. (Isabel Infantes/Reuters)

police said They are searching for three suspects seen on CCTV pouring accelerator on vehicles before burning them. There were no reports of injuries, although nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution.

The attack comes amid a widespread wave of violence targeting Jewish communities across Europe in recent weeks.

Scott Saunders, CEO of the International March of the Living, said the incident represents an alarming escalation. “The arson attack in Golders Green … reflects an alarming increase in the targeting of Jewish communities,” Saunders said. “Emergency vehicles operated by Jewish volunteer first responders were deliberately attacked…in direct proximity to a place of worship – a location that should represent safety.”

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Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel visited the scene after four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community organization Hatzolah were set on fire in an incident in northwest London, UK, on ​​March 23, 2026, which police say is being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime. (Isabel Infantes/Reuters)

He said, “These ambulances not only serve Jewish communities… Targeting them is not only an attack on Jewish life, but an attack on the shared fabric of the community they serve.” “Since then war with iran Since they began, anti-Semitic attacks have become more frequent, more brazen, and more direct. Jewish institutions are being torn apart; Synagogues, community spaces, and now even emergency services that exist to protect Jewish life, with the sense that these are legitimate targets. “Following the deadly shootings in and around a synagogue in Manchester last October, where this escalation had already resulted in the loss of life, the attack in Golders Green makes clear that this trajectory is continuing.”

Dr. Charles Asher Small, founder of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, said the attack reflects a broader trend.

Small said, “The attack against a visible Jewish target is not an isolated act of vandalism; it is the violent consequence of an environment where Jew-hatred has been normalized and institutionalized.”

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Men hold an Israeli flag and a pre-Iranian revolution “Lion and Sun” flag near the scene where four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community organization Hatzolah were set on fire in an incident in northwest London, Britain, March 23, 2026 that police say is being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime. Reuters/Isabel Infantes (Isabel Infantes/Reuters)

He said, “At the center of this malice sits the Iranian regime… which actively funds and directs networks that view British Jewish institutions as legitimate targets.”

British officials also condemned the attack.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “An attack on our Jewish community is an attack on all of us. We will fight the poison that is anti-Semitism.”

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called the Ax incident “a particularly despicable attack – not only on the Jewish community, but also on the values ​​we share as a society.”

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Police secure the site near a synagogue damaged by an explosion early Monday in Liège, Belgium, March 9, 2026. (Yves Harman/Reuters)

“The targeting of Hatzolah… is the most painful example of the ongoing battle between those who sanctify life and those who destroy it,” he said in a statement posted on March 23, 2026.

Police said no arrests have been made and anyone with information is urged to come forward.