Iranian-linked group claims responsibility for stabbing attack on London Jews

“The writing was on the wall” – Israel says it repeatedly warned Britain that the Iran-backed terror group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia was planning attacks on British Jews.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

An Iranian-linked Islamist terror group has claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack in northern London targeting Orthodox Jews outside a synagogue.

On Wednesday, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), a pro-Iranian terrorist group that has operated in Europe since March, reportedly with the backing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, issued a statement via its Telegram account claiming responsibility for a stabbing attack in London’s Golders Green neighborhood.

Two Orthodox Jewish men, one 34 and the other 76, were seriously wounded in the attack.

The assailant, a 45-year-old Somali-born British citizen, was subdued by members of the local Jewish neighborhood watch group Shomrim before London Metropolitan Police officers arrived on the scene.

The HAYI Telegram account was removed shortly after the statement was issued Wednesday.

Last month, HAYI claimed responsibility for an arson attack targeting the Jewish emergency first-responder group Hatzola, during which four ambulances were torched in the Golders Green neighborhood.

HAYI has taken credit for or been linked to more than a dozen attacks on Jews and Jewish targets across Europe since March 9.

On Thursday, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism accused the British government of ignoring warnings regarding HAYI, noting that the ministry had repeatedly raised concerns regarding HAYI operations in Britain over the past month.

“The handwriting is on the wall, written in blood,” said Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli. “We have warned in recent weeks that this is an emerging organization with characteristics of decentralized terrorism, and today we see the realization of this threat in the heart of London. The British government must wake up, do much more, and ensure the security of the Jewish communities.”

The ministry noted the sharp rise in online antisemitic incitement in Britain and the parallel increase in violent antisemitic attacks.

Between April 27, 2025, and April 27, 2026, approximately 6.37 million antisemitic posts related to the UK were published on X, the ministry said.

During the same time period, there was an increase in violent incidents against Jews, including the assault of an Orthodox Jewish man in the town of Slough, arsons and attempted arsons of Jewish institutions in London, the torching of Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, additional physical assaults against Jews in public spaces, and a fatal attack outside a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur.