CCTV footage of a knife attack in Golders Green, north-east London – where two Jewish men were attacked and responding police officers were also assaulted – was widely circulated on social media on Wednesday. The attacker was disarmed with a police Taser and arrested. So far, authorities have said the 45-year-old suspect had a “history of serious violence and mental health issues.”
A statement from Mark RowleyThe Met Police Commissioner added: “While I cannot comment on live investigations, we do know that some individuals are encouraged, persuaded or paid to commit acts of violence on behalf of foreign organizations and hostile states.” But which foreign organization or hostile state is he referring to?
Enter Harakat Eshab al-Jamin al-Islamia (Hayi). Less than an hour after the attack, the group claimed responsibility for the stabbings via text messages and a video release Hayi, who first appeared in early March on the social media pages of the Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militia, is a “arcane” group that has claimed to have carried out attacks, mainly in Jewish countries across Europe.
These have mainly targeted Jewish neighborhoods, non-profit organizations, places of worship, banks and Iranian dissidents. In fact, the Golders Green area was home to another alleged attack by Hayi, on March 23 destroyed two ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity. An April 16 video claimed members of the group were using drones to target the Israeli embassy in London with “radioactive and cancerous material.”
Subscribe to the New Statesman today and save 75%
Unlike established Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, those arrested for involvement in the attacks for which Hayi has claimed responsibility are not, for the most part, Shiite Muslims motivated by ideological loyalty to Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei or a desire for revenge against US and Israeli actions. Instead, they appear to be employeesoften coming into contact with their Iranian handlers through criminal exploits marketed on social networks. Cross-site attacks offered a quick payoff.
In other recruitment efforts, Iran would transfer cryptocurrency to the attacker, request a video of the attack, and then post it later. In the recent past, Tehran has even hired gangs for these efforts, using a group banned by the UK to attack the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen in 2024. This is essentially Hayi’s modus operandi. The process is not unique to Tehran: it has also been used by Russia, particularly in targeting interests that support Ukraine’s war effort.
On April 23, Hayi issued a vague announcement on one of the Telegram pages linked to the Iraqi Shia militia that promotes the group’s messages. Accompanied by an AI-generated image, it declared: “72 hours… move now before it’s too late.” The deadline came and went. Almost three days after the warning, the stabbing in Golders Green took place. This may be enough to hint at a connection between the attack and the group.
However, the April 29 stabbing lacks definitive links to Hayi’s terrorist activities — and, by extension, to Iran — across Europe. Knife attacks were claimed, but any number of groups could have done it. The group’s claims linking him to the attack came to light after many details were made public. The propaganda video, unlike Hayi’s other releases, did not have unique visuals or details that demonstrate a deeper connection.
Even if the attack was not ordered, paid for or directed by Tehran, the propaganda value of claiming responsibility was not lost on Hayi. The attacker was portrayed in a propaganda video as a “lone wolf”. Thus, even if he had no contact with Hayi or his social media content, the group could present him as “inspired” by his efforts.
Hayi even went so far as to claim a connection – however tenuous – to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on April 25 at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It read: “See how the followers of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) participated in the operation with us. We repeat our appeal to the honorable American people and salute the hero Cole Thomas Allen.” To some, this might suggest that Hayi is incapable of executing anything but grandiose threats. However, this does not negate his hybrid recruitment model or the previously alleged attacks.
While links to the latest attack remain murky, the broader campaign attributed to Iran should not be subsumed in a vague effort to combat anti-Semitism. This is a deeper issue of counterterrorism and foreign policy. Iran, as the state purveyor of this violence, will have to be faced, along with the reality that some attackers targeting Jews may do so simply for a paycheck.
(Further reading: We are under attack)
Content from our partners
