Metropolitan Police said on Monday, March 23, 2026, that four ambulances were set on fire in the Golders Green area of north London, in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as a

The United Kingdom on Monday blamedan Iran-linked proxy groupfor a string of antisemitic arson attacks targeting British Jewish sites, prompting the government to ban Tehran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and impose sweeping new powers to crack down on foreign-backed sabotage.

British officials said the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (IMCR) publicly claimed responsibility for seven attacks this yeartargeting Jewishand Israeli-linked locations, as well as a Persian-language media outlet critical of Iran’s government. According to the U.K. government, members of the IRGC’s elite Qods Force were “almost certainly” directing the group’s operations across Europe.

The attacks included fires at synagogues, Jewish charity ambulances and other Jewish community sites in London. No injuries were reported.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he hosts a reception with the Jewish community to discuss efforts to tackle antisemitism, at Downing Street, in London, Britain, July 13, 2026.(REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new measures send a clear message to foreign adversaries seeking to sow violence.

“We will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets,” Starmer said. “Anyone acting on behalf of those whothreaten our national securityshould be in no doubt that there is no place for you in Britain.”

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, hosts a reception with the Jewish community, to discuss efforts to tackle antisemitism, at Downing Street in London, England, Monday, July 13, 2026.(Suzanne Plunkett/Pool Photo via AP)

If Parliament approves the designations later this week, anyone carrying out acts of sabotage — including arson — on behalf ofthe IRGC, IMCRor Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps could face life imprisonment. Supporting or assisting the groups could carry prison sentences of up to 14 years.

The British government said the new authorities, created under the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, will make it easier for prosecutors to secure convictions because they will no longer have to prove a direct foreign government connection in every case.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accused both Tehran and Moscow of relying on criminal proxies to conduct hostile operationsinside the United Kingdom.

Fonte: Fox News