Iran-linked militant group claims responsibility for London stabbing attack
Harakat ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, which has claimed a series of antisemitic attacks across Europe since March, says it was behind the incident
A militant group with suspected links to Iran's network of proxy organizations has claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack in London, though the claim is unsubstantiated and analysts warn it may be opportunistic. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI) posted the claim on Telegram approximately one hour after the attack, via accounts that have previously shared statements from the group. No evidence was provided to support the claim.
HAYI emerged publicly in March 2026, shortly after the start of the Iran war, and has since claimed responsibility for a coordinated series of attacks targeting Jewish institutions across Europe. Those attacks, which occurred between March 9 and 23, included an explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium; an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam; explosions outside a Jewish school and an office building near the World Trade Center in Amsterdam; an arson attack on a Jewish ambulance service in London; and an arson attack targeting a vehicle in a Jewish neighborhood in Antwerp. The group released statements and videos claiming responsibility shortly after each incident, despite having no known prior operational history.
According to a special report published by Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, HAYI's name, visual identity, and operational patterns bear close resemblance to those of Iranian-aligned Shiite militant organizations, including Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Videos of the attacks were rapidly circulated on Telegram channels linked to those networks.
Open-source intelligence analysis further suggests the group may be connected to Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, an Iraqi militia designated as a terrorist organization by the US State Department in June 2024 that has previously used the "Ashab al-Yamin" alias. The European attacks occurred shortly after the reported killing of one of that group's leaders in a joint US-Israeli operation on February 28, 2026.
Following the March 15 Amsterdam attack, the group issued a warning stating, "This is the final warning. To all the people of the world, especially in the European Union, immediately distance yourselves from all American and Zionist interests, facilities, and what is affiliated with them." Dutch police arrested four individuals aged 17 to 19 in connection with the Rotterdam synagogue arson, suggesting local actors may have served as operational executors.
The group's latest claim, if verified, would mark a further escalation in its targeting of Jewish communities in Europe. European security agencies are investigating whether HAYI represents a newly formed organization, a temporary front for existing Iranian-aligned militias, or a decentralized network of locally recruited actors directed remotely.
Regardless of final attribution, the pattern of activity attributed to the group points to a growing threat of proxy-enabled or digitally coordinated antisemitic attacks on the continent, with HAYI's emergence seen by analysts as part of a broader Iranian effort to project influence and intimidate Jewish and Western-aligned targets beyond the Middle East.