The incident occurred at approximately 10:30 PM on Friday at the previous ground-floor offices of Jewish Futures in Hendon, which maintain educational and cultural connections to Israel. According to the Metropolitan Police, a man approached a row of shops carrying a plastic bag containing three bottles filled with fluid, placed the bag next to the building and lit the items, but the bottles failed to fully ignite and the man fled the scene. The attack resulted in only minor damage to the shopfront, with no injuries reported.
Commander Helen Flanagan of Counter Terrorism Policing London stated that while the arson is not currently being connected to other recent incidents in northwest London, counterterrorism officers are leading the investigation. The group claiming responsibility, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), confirmed their involvement in the attack on Telegram. This marks the fifth incident attributed to HAYI in less than four weeks.
It is no one who knows this group from before. I have myself spoken with several leading researchers in the USA and no one has heard of it until now.
The group has claimed involvement in three additional incidents across the UK during the past week, including a failed firebombing attempt at a synagogue in Finchley and an arson attack on the studios of Iran International. HAYI also asserts it targeted the Israeli embassy in Kensington with drones allegedly carrying radioactive material. Terrorism researcher Hans Brun told major media that much indicates the organization could be a construct with connections to Iran.
According to TV4 Nyheterna, Hans Brun described that the group lacks a history, which makes him suspicious. He described it as part of Iran's long-term strategy to use other means than regular military violence. According to TV4 Nyheterna, Hans Brun described that very much speaks to this being a front and a way for Iran to discreetly push back.
Often, terrorist groups have a history and they don't just appear like this out of nowhere without there often being a context they stem from.
The purpose is, according to Brun, to raise the costs for the opponent. Whether the group exists in practice is less important than what it is used for, he argues. By using proxies, Iran can simultaneously avoid being pointed out directly.
Very much speaks to this being a front and that this is a way for Iran to a little discreetly push back and remind that they have the possibility to harm the Western world in many different ways.
Iran can never defeat the USA militarily because the USA is a superpower. However, they can use other methods, what we call asymmetric methods.
It is a way to cause political and economic damages that the opponent cannot handle.
Iran can always wash their hands and officially say that they have nothing to do with this. Then you get this political fig leaf that you can hide behind.