CCTV footage of a stabbing in Golders Green, north-east London – where two Jewish men were attacked and responding police officers were also assaulted – circulated widely on social media on Wednesday. The attacker was disarmed with a police taser and arrested. Thus far, authorities have said the 45-year-old suspect had a “history of serious violence and mental health issues”.
A statement from Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Met Police, added: “While I cannot comment on live investigations, we know that some individuals are being encouraged, persuaded or paid to commit acts of violence on behalf of foreign organisations and hostile states.” But which foreign organisation or hostile state is being referred to?
Enter Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Hayi). Less than an hour after the attack, the group claimed responsibility for the stabbings through text messages and a video release. Hayi, which first appeared in early March on Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militia social media pages, is a “mysterious” group that has claimed to have made attacks, mainly on Jewish sites across Europe.
These have primarily targeted Jewish neighbourhoods, non-profit organisations, sites of worship, banks and Iranian dissidents. In fact, the Golders Green area was home to another Hayi-claimed attack, on 23 March, that destroyed two ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity. A 16 April video claimed that affiliates of the group were using drones to target the Israeli embassy in London with “radioactive and carcinogenic material”.
Unlike established Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, those arrested for involvement in the attacks Hayi has claimed responsibility for are not, for the most part, Shia Muslims motivated by ideological loyalty to Iran’s former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, or by a desire for revenge on US and Israeli actions. Instead, they appear to be hirelings, often coming into contact with their Iranian handlers through criminal exploits marketed on social media. Attacks on different sites offered a quick payday.
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 one UK-proscribed group 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 supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
On 23 April, Hayi issued a vague announcement on one of the Iraqi Shia militia-aligned Telegram pages that promotes the group’s messaging. Accompanied by an AI-generated image, it declared: “72 Hours… move now before it is too late.” The deadline came and went. Nearly three days after the warning, the Golders Green stabbing attack occurred. This may be enough to hint at a link between the attack and the group.
Still, the 29 April knife attack lacks definitive links to Hayi’s – and, by extension, Iran’s – terror activities across Europe. The stabbings were claimed but any number of groups could have done so. The group’s claims linking it to the attack emerged well after many details were made public. The propaganda video, unlike other Hayi releases, lacked unique footage 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 its social media content, the group could still present him as “inspired” by its efforts.
Hayi even went so far as to claim a link – however tenuous – to the 25 April attempted assassination of Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It stated: “Look how the followers of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) participated in the operation with us. We reiterate our call to the honorable American people and salute the hero Cole Thomas Allen.” For some, this may suggest Hayi is incapable of executing anything apart from grandiose threats. However, this does not negate its hybrid recruitment model or its previously claimed attacks.
While links to the most recent attack remain murky, the broader campaign attributed to Iran should not be subsumed within a vague effort to counter anti-Semitism. This is a deeper counterterrorism and foreign policy issue. Iran, as the state purveyor of this violence, will need to be confronted, along with the reality that some attackers targeting Jewish people may simply be doing it for a cheque.
[Further reading: We are under attack]
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