Metropolitan police chief says it’s ‘too early’ to blame Iran for Golders Green attack

Police are investigating whether an Islamist group with links to the Iranian state was behind an arson attack on Jewish community ambulances on Monday morning, the Metropolitan Police commissioner said.

Four vehicles were destroyed in the early hours of Monday.

Scotland Yard said it was being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime, not terrorism.

It is claimed that a video was published on Telegram by an Islamist group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, showing a map of where the ambulances were kept and footage of them burning.

Speaking at the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors antisemitism in the UK, on ​​Monday, Sir Mark Rowley is expected to say the “rapid growth of Iranian state threats in recent years is serious”, but it is “too early” to attribute the attack to the Iranian state.

Sir Mark will say: “The Jewish community in Britain has been increasingly targeted in recent years by individuals, groups and hostile states intent on spreading fear, hatred and harm.

“Given today’s events, this volatile mix is ​​at the forefront of my mind.”

He adds: “The rapid increase in Iranian state threats in recent years is very serious: hostile state surveillance activities, twenty foiled plots, and more recently, attempted attacks against the Iranian diaspora.

“None of these are isolated.

“This is part of a rapidly changing threat landscape.

“It is too early for me to attribute last night’s attack on Golders Green to the Iranian state – this is something the counter-terrorism investigation will appreciate – but whoever is responsible, the impact is serious.

“We believe three suspects were involved and are continuing investigations, including the online claim of responsibility by an Islamist group that has claimed other attacks across Europe and has potential links to the Iranian state.”

CCTV shows three hooded men pouring accelerant into vehicles belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service Hatzola, setting them on fire and fleeing.

Speaking near the scene on Monday, Detective Superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing in the area, said investigators were aware of a group online claiming responsibility for the attack but had not yet confirmed whether this was true.

Sir Mark is expected to praise the actions of Met officers, as well as the “extraordinary speed and professionalism” of local volunteers, CST teams, synagogue security and Hatzola staff, which he will say “literally saved lives”.

He will add: “And let’s be clear about what is aimed for: a voluntary ambulance service serving everyone from all backgrounds.

“The attack on Hatzola is an attack not only on the Jewish community but on all of us.

“There is no ‘us and them’. There is only an attack on British society.”

Sir Mark said the aim of his force was to “protect, be visible, reassure and keep people safe” and that additional measures were being taken to protect Jewish communities.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called on communities to “stand together” against the “appalling anti-Semitic attack”, while Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said it was “particularly sickening” that voluntary service was being targeted.

Gas cylinders in the ambulances exploded after being set on fire at the scene in Highfield Road at around 1.45am on Monday, but no injuries were reported.

While the nearby houses were evacuated as a precaution, the closed roads in the region still remain.

Neighborhood residents said that they woke up in the early hours of the morning due to the noise and that the windows, including the windows of the nearby synagogue, were blown away by the violence of the explosion.

A man living in Highfield Road said: “My wife was afraid for her life. People were shouting for us to grab a bag and leave but they wouldn’t tell us where to go. It was so scary and I’m still shaking now.”

The Counter Terrorism Police, who are conducting the investigation, are asking anyone who has footage of the arson attack to contact them.

Jewish leaders met with the Prime Minister in Downing Street on Monday, and Michael Wegier, chairman of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said Jews in the UK now feel less safe than they did a few years ago.

The Press Association estimates more than 250 people attended a rally against antisemitism in Golders Green this evening.

Protesters waved the Israeli flag and chanted “Keir Starmer, Jew harm”, “Long live Israel” and “No to Jew hatred”.

The latest official figures on hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales showed that Jews had the highest rate of religious hate crimes against them of any faith group.

Two worshipers were killed in a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025, and in a separate investigation earlier this month two men were charged with allegedly spying on Jewish people and Iranian locations.

The government has pledged to fund emergency medical support as well as replacing ambulances.