Three charged after attempted arson at Iran International office in London

LONDON – British police said on April 17 they had charged three people over an attempted arson attack on offices linked to television station Iran International in north-west London earlier this week.

The three, two men and a teenager and all British, are accused of arson with intent to endanger life after an ignited container was thrown towards the premises of the parent company of Iran International, Volant Media, on the evening of April 15, landing in a carpark.

The fire immediately put itself out, causing no damage nor injuries.

Iran International, a London-based television station critical of Tehran’s government, said a suspicious vehicle was denied entry to its London site shortly before the incendiary devices were thrown.

Oisin McGuinness, 21, Nathan Dunn, 19, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later on April 17. McGuinness was also charged with dangerous driving.

Police said a vehicle fled the scene and crashed after being pursued by an armed response unit which was in the area.

The incident came a day after police arrested two suspects following an attempted arson attack on a synagogue, also in north London.

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.

None of the incidents have been linked, but London’s Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Matt Jukes said he understood why conflict overseas and heightened tensions in Britain would be “deeply worrying”.

“London’s Jewish communities and the Iranian diaspora in London have, in recent years, been increasingly targeted by individuals, groups and hostile states intent on spreading fear, hate and harm,” Mr Jukes said. REUTERS