UK police charge 3 in arson attack at Persian-language media organization

LONDON (AP) — British police said Friday they have charged three people in an arson attack at a Persian-language media organization in northwest London.

Oisin McGuinness, 21, Nathan Dunn, 19, and a 16-year-old boy were all charged with arson with intent to endanger life, London’s Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement. McGuinness was also charged with dangerous driving. All three are British nationals.

Police said that officers on patrol in the Wembley area of north London on Wednesday night responded to reports of a burning container thrown toward a building. The unspecified container landed in a car park, where the fire went out. There were no reports of any damage or injuries.

The three suspects were arrested after the black SUV they were riding in crashed while being pursued by police.

The incident followed warnings that the conflict in the U.S.-led war against Iran had heightened ethnic and religious tensions in Britain. Persian is the primary language of Iran.

Police are also investigating an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in northwest London earlier Wednesday and an attack last month that destroyed four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity in north London.

While all three attacks are being treated as separate incidents, counterterror police are conducting the investigations due to the nature of the attacks, their locations and the types of buildings involved, the Met said.

Police said they have not declared the incidents as terror attacks and they “retain an open mind” about the motivation behind the attacks.