UK Police Arrest Two Over North London Synagogue Arson, Iran Links Under Investigation

A north-west London synagogue was hit by an arson attack that the Chief Rabbi said was part of attacks “gathering momentum,” after Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow was attacked overnight.

The BBC reported that counter-terrorism police were investigating whether the incidents were linked to a group with “possible ties to Iran,” and that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was appalled and that “visible policing” would be increased.

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At a press briefing outside Kenton United Synagogue, deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans said officers found “evidence that a bottle with some sort of accelerant had been thrown through the window,” and that firefighters searched the building to confirm there was “no further fire risk.”

The BBC said no-one was injured and minor smoke damage was reported, and it quoted Yehuda Black saying, “I was very upset to hear about what happened. Our synagogue is a beautiful synagogue,” and “It’s so unfortunate that it has been damaged in such a way.”

The Jerusalem Post reported that British police arrested two people over an attempted arson attack on the synagogue, with a 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man taken into custody overnight.

The Jerusalem Post also said the fire caused “minor smoke damage to an internal room, and no injuries were reported,” matching the BBC’s account of no injuries.

Reuters, as republished by multiple outlets, placed the Kenton attack shortly after midnight and described it as the third such incident in a week, with counter-terrorism police “heading up investigations into the incidents.”

Police and community leaders tied the Kenton attack to a wider pattern of arson and threats, with multiple reports describing an online group claiming responsibility and police exploring whether it has links to Iran.

The BBC said the incidents were similar in nature and had been claimed online by a group called Ashab al‑Yamin, which had also claimed attacks on Jewish targets across Europe.

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Evans told reporters, “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,” and she added, “This is recruiting violence as a service, and the people who conduct that violence often have little or no allegiance to the cause and are taking quick cash for their crimes.”

The Jerusalem Post said counter-terrorism officers were probing possible links between a series of recent attacks on Jewish targets and Iran, and it described the Kenton attack as the latest in a series of arson incidents targeting Jewish sites across the capital in recent weeks.

The Jerusalem Post also reported that British security officials had previously warned that Iran has sought to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the UK.

The Observer, meanwhile, described the group as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Hayi) and said each attack has been claimed in videos released on encrypted messaging platform Telegram, with the group believed to be using social media including Snapchat to recruit young men.

In the Observer’s account, counter-terrorism detectives at Scotland Yard confirmed they were investigating a fifth attack in London since three Jewish ambulances were torched in March.

The Observer also quoted Vicki Evans saying, “We are clearly aware of that group and the incidents across Europe and the claims that have been made on various different channels,” and it said police were working on understanding what that means “in the international context.”

Reactions from senior officials and community representatives followed the Kenton attack, while police described investigative and security steps.

The BBC quoted Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis calling the attack “cowardly,” and it quoted him writing: “Last night yet another synagogue, this time in Kenton, was targeted in a cowardly arson attack.”

The BBC also quoted Sir Keir Starmer saying, “This is abhorrent and it will not be tolerated. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain,” and said he added that “We are increasing visible policing and those responsible will be found and brought to justice.”

The BBC reported that London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said, “history shows that we will never back down against terrorists,” and it quoted the mayor’s statement that “There can never be any justification for attacking our Jewish friends, neighbours and colleagues.”

Community Security Trust said it thanked police and the London Fire Brigade for responding quickly, and it quoted a spokesperson saying, “We are supporting the affected location and are working closely with the police as they investigate and seek to identify those responsible.”

The BBC also quoted United Synagogue president Saul Taylor saying, “A synagogue is not just a building, it is a place of worship, community and - theoretically - safety,” and “To target it in this way is a deeply disturbing act that strikes at the heart of Jewish life.”

The Jerusalem Post added that police said the Kenton attack was the latest in a series of arson incidents targeting Jewish sites across the capital, and it placed other incidents including ambulances belonging to Hatzola being set alight in Golders Green.

In a separate Reuters account carried by Red Lake Nation News, the Kenton attack was described as the third incident in a week, and it said counter-terrorism police were “heading up investigations into the incidents.”

Beyond Kenton, the sources describe a sequence of attacks and related incidents across London, including other Jewish sites and a separate security incident near the Israeli embassy.

The BBC said the Met was investigating the latest attack as well as one at Finchley Reform Synagogue, another at a building used by a Jewish charity in Hendon, and ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity set alight in Golders Green last month, plus an arson attack at a Persian language media organisation.

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The Jerusalem Post similarly listed ambulances belonging to Hatzola set alight in Golders Green, and it also mentioned police briefly cordoned off an area near the Israeli embassy after an online report that it had been targeted with drones carrying “dangerous substances,” with police later saying items recovered did not contain any harmful or hazardous materials.

The BBC’s account of the Kenton incident itself described how officers on “deterrence and reassurance patrols” noticed damage to a window overnight, and on further inspection they saw smoke inside a room and evidence of accelerant thrown through the window.

The Observer added that the failed arson attack on a shopfront for Jewish Futures, an educational charity in Hendon, occurred on Friday night, and it described a man approaching a row of shops with a plastic bag later found to contain three bottles of fluid, which he set alight.

The Observer also said the group claimed it had flown drones carrying radioactive and carcinogenic material towards the nearby Israeli embassy, and it described a video posted on Telegram showing two people in white boiler suits with drones and jam jars containing an unidentified white substance.

The Observer reported that the incident was a departure from the group’s previous tactics, which had involved arson attacks and incendiary devices, and it said Dutch and French authorities had foiled plots related to the group.

In the Reuters-based reporting carried by New York Post, the Kenton attack was described as the third such incident in a week, and it said officers found an accelerant had been thrown inside after a window was damaged.

The sources diverge in how they frame responsibility, the nature of the threat, and what comes next, even when describing the same Kenton attack.

The BBC frames the investigation around possible Iran links and emphasizes police warnings about prosecution under national security laws, quoting Evans saying anyone identified could be prosecuted under the National Security Act, which carried “significant sentences and lifetime restrictions.”

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The BBC also says the Met is investigating whether incidents are linked to Ashab al‑Yamin and that Evans is exploring whether “This is recruiting violence as a service,” while it reports no-one was injured and firefighters confirmed “no further fire risk.”

The Jerusalem Post, by contrast, reports arrests—“a 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were taken into custody overnight”—and it situates the Kenton attack within a broader rise in attacks since the October 2023 Hamas assault on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, citing police and community groups.

The Observer adds a different emphasis by describing alleged recruitment of teens and young men via Snapchat and Telegram, and it quotes Antonio Giustozzi saying, “They recruit people online that are vulnerable,” while also describing a claim that IRGC contacts denied a link and said the group was a proxy for Hezbollah.

The Observer also reports that a Hague-based International Centre for Counter-Terrorism found channels circulating Hayi’s material were affiliated with Iran’s “axis of resistance,” and it quotes Evans saying police were working on understanding “what that means, both in terms of the group themselves, and more broadly, what that means in the international context.”

In the Reuters-based reporting carried by New York Post, the pro-Iranian group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (HAYI) is described as claiming responsibility and posting a video purporting to show the attack, and it quotes Evans saying, “These locations all appear to be linked to Jewish or Israeli interests.”

Looking ahead, the BBC says the synagogue was closed following the attack but there were hopes it would reopen in a few days, while the BBC also reports that the Met’s counter-terrorism officers were investigating multiple incidents including Finchley Reform Synagogue and Hendon.