<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="http://9news.com.au/uk" rel="" target="" title="British"><span>British</span></a><span> </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/police" rel="" target="" title="police"><span>police</span></a><span> say they are investigating whether a string of </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/fire" rel="" target="" title="arson"><span>arson</span></a><span> attacks on Jewish sites in </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/london" rel="" target="" title="London"><span>London</span></a><span> are the work of </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/iran" rel="" target="" title="Iranian"><span>Iranian</span></a><span> proxies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Metropolitan Police force on Sunday said counter-terror officers were probing the attacks on synagogues and other sites linked to the Jewish community, as well as an attack on a Persian-language media company.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>No one has been injured in the blazes, the latest of which caused minor damage to a north London synagogue on Saturday night.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/melton-melbourne-boy-seven-killed-after-being-hit-by-car-driven-by-neighbour-near-melbourne/e87ff8a4-ffad-4676-9e17-be5ffcf3771d"><strong><span>Tragedy strikes boy playing on scooter</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said the attacks had been claimed online by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/uk-police-investigating-if-arson-attacks-on-jewish-sites-in-london-are-the-work-of-iranian-proxies/95f71b41-b5fb-493a-80d7-7cfd33a4d610" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's spy agency, </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/iran-orchestrated-at-least-two-antisemitic-attacks-in-australia-anthony-albanese-says/d0cede9a-6c94-4f68-b86d-29099be3f514" rel="" target="" title="ASIO, famously came out publicly with claims Iran orchestrated at least two alleged antisemitic firebombings"><span>ASIO, famously came out publicly with claims Iran orchestrated at least two alleged antisemitic firebombings</span></a><span> on Australian soil last year by hiring criminals to do its bidding.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The police force has extra uniformed and plainclothes officers to north-west London after attacks in the past month on synagogues, Jewish charity ambulances and a Persian-language media organisation critical of Iran's government.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/lake-macquarie-alleged-murder-mother/66875b27-ecdc-4885-83df-760287290514" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Son accused of killing mum before calling cops</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A blaze that damaged Kenton United Synagogue on Saturday night follows a series of fires targeting Jewish-linked premises and an Iranian opposition outlet that are being investigated by counter-terror police. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the most serious incident, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity were torched on March 23 in the Golders Green neighbourhood,</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>No one has been injured in any of the incidents, which all happened within a few kilometres of each other. Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said on X that "a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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 added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was "appalled" by the attacks, and pledged that "those responsible will be found and brought to justice".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police said the embassy was not attacked, but the force shut the nearby Kensington Gardens park on Friday as officers examined discarded items including two jars containing powder. Police said nothing harmful was found.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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 that more than 20 "potentially lethal" Iran-backed plots were disrupted in the year to October.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some security experts say Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia is likely a flag of convenience rather than a coherent group, and its claims should be treated with caution.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes said any "thugs for hire" who carried out such attacks would face justice.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Let's be really clear — it's a mug's game," he said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: </span></strong></em><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via </span></strong></em><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span> and </span></strong></em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a><em></em></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by </span></strong></em><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a><em></em></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to </span></strong></em><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a><em></em></li></ul></div></div>