Three arrested after attempted arson at Persian-language media office in London
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British authorities have previously warned that there is a threat to journalists working for Persian-language outlets that are critical of Iran’s government.
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- Three men were arrested for attempted arson at a Persian-language media office in Wembley after an ignited container was thrown at the building.
- The suspects, aged 19, 21, and 16, were arrested on suspicion of arson endangering life after crashing their getaway car.
- This incident follows other attacks, including one on a synagogue and ambulances, amid warnings of threats to Iranian media critics in Britain.
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LONDON - British police said on April 16 they had arrested three men in connection with an attempted arson attack on the offices of a Persian-language media organisation in north-west London.
An ignited container was thrown towards the premises of the unnamed media outlet in Wembley on the evening of April 15, landing in a car park where the fire extinguished itself.
No damage was reported and there were no injuries, the police said.
Officers later pursued a black car in which the suspects were reported to have fled the scene, which later crashed.
Two men, aged 19 and 21, and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of arson endangering life and taken into police custody.
The arson attempt was not being treated as terrorism, but counterterrorism officers were involved in the investigation, police said.
The incident comes a day after police arrested two suspects following a separate attempted arson attack on a synagogue, also in north London, although the force said they were not being linked at this stage.
In March, several ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola were set alight while parked near a synagogue in the Golders Green area of north London.
The British authorities have previously warned that there is a threat to journalists working for Persian-language outlets that are critical of Iran’s government. In 2024, a journalist working for the television news network Iran International was stabbed in the leg near his home in south London.
Britain’s MI5 spy boss said last October that his agency and British police had tracked more than 20 Iranian-backed plots to kidnap or kill British nationals or individuals based in Britain who were regarded by Tehran as a threat. REUTERS
