British Police Charge 2 Iranians in Suspected Jewish Terror Plot
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 4
British Police Charge 2 Iranians in Suspected Jewish Terror Plot
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 4
Summary
Two Iranian men were charged Friday after British counterterrorism police said they assembled homemade explosive components and scouted Jewish targets in the Manchester area.
The charges came days after police arrested and later released five men outside a British air base that Iran had labeled a “legitimate target,” a case Prime Minister Andy Burnham said showed strong indications of Iranian involvement.
Counterterrorism analysts say the alleged plot fits a wider pattern that emerged after the U.S.-Iran war began in February, with about 20 small arson and bombing attacks hitting Jewish and American targets in Europe and North America.
Experts say a strike on the British base would mark a sharper escalation from those mostly low-damage nighttime attacks, extending what they describe as Iran’s “gig economy” proxy model using online-recruited cutouts.