‘Get Focused on London’: How Iran’s Agents Attacked European Targets

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.A wave of assaults in Britain and elsewhere in the spring sowed fear across Europe.

Prosecutors shed new light on how Iran took aim at U.S. allies.An arson attempt at a synagogue in London was part of a wave of attempted attacks on Jewish targets in the West that the authorities blamed on Iran and its proxies.Credit...Toby Shepheard/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesNov. 13, 2026, 3:10 p.m.

ETAs the U.S.-Israel war in Iran raged earlier this year, a man linked to Iranian criminal networks perched in front of a computer, on a video call with a teenager in London. The man wanted to make sure the teen, who was moments away from setting fire to a synagogue, carried out his plans.“Light it up like a Christman tree,” the man, an Iraqi named Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, urged the 17-year-old, according to U.S. prosecutors.

The teen climbed over a wall and tossed a bomb through a broken window. “J’s mic is muted,” read the text on Mr. al-Hassani’s computer screen.The synagogue arson in April was a small, violent part of Iran’s efforts to force an end to the bombing campaign that was pummeling the country, according to American investigators.The attack was described in a federal indictment filed in New York this week. It revealed extensive new details about a wave of violence against Jewish institutions in Europe and U.S. targets, including a British air base used by American bombers.

Prosecutors hold Iran’s agents responsible for the assaults.Within days of the war starting, Mr. al-Hassani and at least two associates, including an operative for Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, began plotting the attacks in Europe, prosecutors said. The men talked about procuring drones and missiles from contacts in Iran.

They pored over a map of London, with one saying they should “get focused” on targeting the British capital. Soon after, attacks hit temples and other Jewish sites in London.In the fight against much stronger conventional forces, Iran has found ways to impose costs on its adversaries without inviting a full military response.

One major aspect of Iran’s strategy is its embrace of small-time criminals to conduct low-cost assaults against vulnerable targets that are part of everyday life.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?

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