U.S. Prosecutors Blame Iran's Agents for Attacks on Jewish Sites in Europe

U.S. prosecutors say an Iraqi man urged a teenager in London to set fire to a synagogue during a video call, and they link the case to Iran. A federal indictment filed in New York this week names the man as Mohammad Ali al-Hassani. It describes the synagogue attack and a wider wave of violence against Jewish institutions in Europe and against U.S. targets.

According to the New York Times, the attack on the London synagogue took place in April 2026. The 17-year-old climbed over a wall and tossed a bomb through a broken window.

The attacks came during the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. American investigators described the synagogue arson as part of Iran's efforts to force an end to the bombing campaign against Iran. Prosecutors allege that al-Hassani and at least two associates, one of them an operative of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, began plotting attacks in Europe within days of the war starting.

The alleged plotters discussed obtaining drones and missiles from contacts in Iran. They also studied a map of London and discussed focusing on the British capital. Temples and other Jewish sites in London were later hit, according to the same account. The violence described in the indictment also included a British air base used by American bombers.

U.S. prosecutors hold Iran's agents responsible for the assaults on Jewish institutions in Europe and U.S. targets.