At 1:45 a.m. on Monday, three masked men set four ambulances on fire in the parking lot of the Machzikei Hadath synagogue in London’s Golders Green suburb—an area known for its significant Jewish population. The ambulances belonged to Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer ambulance service. British officials quickly condemned the attack, labeling it antisemitic. 

Following the attack, a video claiming responsibility was posted online by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, or Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right. The video showed a map of the location where the ambulances were kept and footage of them on fire. This is the second video to emerge from the group in as many weeks. Ashab al-Yamin released its first video on March 13, claiming responsibility for multiple attacks on Jewish targets in Europe over the past month.

The first attack Ashab al-Yamin claimed occurred on March 9. A 4 a.m. explosion outside of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, damaged the door of the synagogue and blew out the windows of a building across the street. Liège Mayor Willy Demeyer called the explosion “an extremely violent act of antisemitism.” Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin called the incident “an abject antisemitic act that directly targeted Belgium’s Jewish community.” The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation, noting that there were “possible indications of a terrorist offense.” Similar to Golders Green, security footage later showed a masked man placing a burning object in front of the synagogue moments before it exploded. 

On March 13, an explosion outside an historic synagogue in Rotterdam, Netherlands, sparked a fire that damaged the building but caused no injuries. On March 16, Dutch police announced the arrest of four teenagers, aged 17 to 19, suspected of setting off the explosion. According to police, the teenagers were driving suspiciously close to a synagogue they were stopped. Dutch prosecutors said the attack was mean to instill “serious fear in a population group, in this case the Jewish community.” Ashab al-Yamin claimed responsibility in its March 13 video. The group also claimed responsibility for a March 11 attack on a “Zionist” in Greece. Greek authorities, however, have not publicly reported any such attack, suggesting that claim could be disinformation meant to spread fear.

Prior to the March 13 video, Ashab al-Yamin had little digital presence. A March 9 post on a Telegram channel linked to an Iraqi pro-Iranian militia, announced a new campaign of “military operations” against U.S. and Israeli interests. Otherwise, the group had no digital presence, which is not unusual. The March 13 video appeared on Telegram and social media channels linked to Iran’s so-called resistance front, particularly Hezbollah and the IRGC. A March 23 video appeared on a Telegram channel supposedly linked to the group, which appears to have been created only on March 21. 

European authorities have made multiple arrests thus far. In addition to the four Dutch arrests, London police today arrested two male British nationals aged 47 and 45 in connection to the ambulance arson. In line with the Israeli report, the arrests suggest that the Ashab al-Yamin network utilizes local cells, which may or may not be interconnected and may not share . 

Evidence seems to suggest that this is more likely than Ashab al-Yamin being a newly emerged Iranian proxy group. As illustrated in its videos, Ashab al-Yamin’s logo is similar to other Iran-linked terror groups. It includes an upstretched arm clenching a rifle. Hezbollah in Lebanon, Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, and the IRGC feature the same image. However, Ashab al-Yamin diverges from other Iran-linked groups in the type of gun featured in the logo. Whereas other Iran-linked militias feature an AK rifle, Ashab al-Yamin’s logo features a Soviet Dragunov rifle. 

A report from Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism has linked Ashab al-Yamin to the Iranian regime. According to a report from that ministry, the attacks are part of an intimidation against Europe’s Jewish communities. The Ministry’s report suggests a decentralized network, which includes the absence of official communications channels and a limited operational footprint. 

The arrests, the discrepancies of the logo, and the language used in the two statements issued by the group all support the idea that Ashab al-Yamin may not be a singular group but rather a network of independent cells cultivated by the Iranian regime.

The March 13 statement relies on religious and Islamist language, calling for jihad on behalf of Islam: “In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, ‘Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the path of God.’ God Almighty has spoken the truth. O mujahideen of Islam, O knights of the shadows, defend your religion. Rise, by God’s permission, to jihad in His path. Go forth where darkness takes shelter, and let the light of truth be revealed through your strength, and spread justice and light in every corner of the world. (Badr 1, Badr 2, Fath 6, Khaybar 14) Put your trust in God.”

This statement follows a pattern used by other Islamist groups, using Quranic verses and framing the mission in religious terms. In the March 23 video, however, Ashab al-Yamin’s language changed, suggesting that the statements were not created by a centralized network. The March 23 video included statements in English, Hebrew, and Arabic that referred specifically to “Israel,” forgoing language typically used by Iranian proxies (i.e., “Zionist entity” or Palestine). The language shows that the author either does not share or does not understand the Iranian regime’s ingrained opposition to recognition of Israel, which supports the decentralization theory.

The language discrepancies indicate that the cells are operating independently of each other while utilizing a central system to upload their statements. Uniting independent cells under a loosely affiliated umbrella also provides the Iranian regime with plausible deniability of Ashab al-Yamin’s actions while also making it more difficult to track. This would not be the first time that Iran has subcontracted with transnational criminal networks, as it has previously utilized such groups in Europe and South America. Hezbollah has also employed criminals in South America to run drug-trafficking and forgery networks on its behalf. 

While we do not fully understand the cohesion of this new network, we cannot and should not dismiss the threat it poses. While the Iranian regime continues to launch missiles at Israeli, U.S., and Arab targets, it makes sense that the Quds Force, the IRGC’s foreign arm, would activate transnational networks to target Jewish and Israeli interests. We have seen Iran-linked terrorists target Jewish institutions before, notably the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994. Suspected Hezbollah operatives also targeted Israeli tourists in Bulgaria in 2012. While Ashab al-Yamin’s origin remains shrouded, its goal is not: create a sense of fear and discomfort among Europe’s Jewish community. And in that, it must not be allowed to succeed.