Mathieu Rosemain

France suspects links to pro-Iranian group in BofA Paris conspiracy

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Point 1 of 3 A member of private security stands outside Bank of America’s Paris offices, after French counter-terrorism prosecutors opened an investigation into attempted arson attacks in Paris, France, March 30, 2026. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

[1/3]A member of private security stands outside Bank of America’s Paris offices, after French anti-terror prosecutors opened an investigation into an attempted arson attack or other dangerous … Purchase Licensing Rightsopens a new tab Read more
  • HAYI posted a video naming Bank of America in Paris as the target, prosecutors say
  • Security sources say HAYI is using tactics linked to Iran, employing criminals to avoid detection
  • Four suspects are being investigated, the device was the most powerful of its kind found in France
PARIS, April 1 (Reuters) – France suspects that a pro-Iranian group known as HAYI is behind the devastating attack on Bank of America’s Paris offices, its anti-terrorism prosecutor said on Wednesday, stressing that a link had not been officially established.

HAYI, which stands for Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, or the Movement of the Companions of the Right Hand of Islam, posted a video on social media on March 23 targeting Jewish interests and the French and European communities, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement to Reuters.

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Added video that specifically called Bank of America’s (BAC.N)opens a new tab Headquartered in Paris in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital.

“Because of the aforementioned video targeting this bank in the US and the method of operation that has seen similar operations across several European countries, this attack … appears to be related to the group HAYI, although this has not been officially established at this stage of the proceedings,” the prosecutor’s office said.

The group – unknown until the many attacks across Europe on US, Israeli and Jewish targets for which it claimed responsibility – appears to be relatively new.

Security sources said it appeared to be using a model linked to Iran to recruit gangs or small-scale criminals to carry out attacks.

“After the failed bomb plot by Iranian intelligence in Paris in 2018, the Iranian people turned to organized crime groups, so it is even more difficult to bring it back to Tehran,” said a senior Western diplomat.

“These operations are aimed at dissidents and elements related to Jews. There have been many of them throughout Europe. Our expectation is that Iran will now begin to install this network,” said the representative.

No new threat has been identified by French authorities, but the situation is plausible, two security sources told Reuters.

Iran’s embassy in France did not immediately respond to a request for comment and declined over the weekend to comment on French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez’s comments indicating Iranian involvement.

THE SUSPECTS AVOID THE PLACE

The device used in the devastating March 28 attack, a five-liter gasoline can filled with a large pyrotechnic charge, was found by forensic experts to contain a 650-gram active cylinder with a fuse, the prosecutor’s office said. Paris police found it to be the most powerful pyrotechnic device of its kind known in France so far, he added.

Four suspects, three minors and one adult, have been officially placed under investigation, the prosecutor’s office said. The fifth person was released due to lack of sufficient evidence.

Investigators established through CCTV footage, phone records and police interviews that an adult hired the three youths between the nights of March 26 and 27, paying them between 500 and 1,000 euros ($580-$1,160) to plant the device, light it and film the incident, the prosecutor said.

All four suspects denied planning a terrorist attack, although they admitted knowing that the target was not a residential building, it said.

French counter-terrorism prosecutors said they were working with partners in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands in what they called HAYI-related attacks across Europe in March.

Investigators’ main concern now is to determine who is responsible for the attack, prosecutors said.

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Reporting on Mathieu Rosemain; Edited by Toby Chopra

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