Teen who tried to torch London synagogue claims he did not mean to target Jewish site, amid reports of local men being hired by Iranian-linked groups to terrorize European Jewish communities.By World Israel News StaffA 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty on Tuesday to an arson attack on a synagogue in northwest London, in the first conviction tied to a recent string of attacks on Jewish-linked sites in the British capital.The teenager, who cannot be identified because of his age, admitted to arson not endangering life over the attack on Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow. He was released on bail and is due back in court on June 4.According to prosecutors, surveillance footage showed the boy climbing over a wall on Saturday night, lighting a bottle of liquid and throwing it through a broken window. The fire caused smoke damage, but no injuries were reported.In a written statement, the teenager said he did not realize the building was a synagogue. “I have no hate toward the Jewish people,” he said. “I am very sorry for my actions.”Police said the Kenton attack was part of a broader pattern.Britain’s counterterrorism police are investigating a cluster of recent arson and attempted arson incidents targeting Jewish- and Israeli-linked sites in London, alongside an attack on a Persian-language media outlet critical of Tehran.Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes of the Metropolitan Police said several premises “linked to Britain’s Jewish community and to those who oppose the Iranian regime, have been targeted in recent arson attacks.”He described the incidents as part of “a concerted campaign against Londoners, and specifically, against British Jews.”Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said investigators are examining whether “criminal proxies” were recruited to carry out the attacks for money. “The stakes are high,” she said. “It is absolutely not worth the risk for a small reward.”The wider investigation has continued to expand.Police said 23 people had been arrested as of Tuesday, with seven held on suspicion of conspiring to set fire to an unspecified Jewish venue.By Wednesday night, Sky News reported that the arrest total in the separate conspiracy probe had risen to nine over three days, while counterterror police had made 25 arrests overall since the first of the recent cases.The recent wave of attacks began on March 23, when four ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola were torched in Golders Green.Last week, an attempted arson attack also targeted a synagogue in Finchley. In that case, police said two bottles suspected of containing petrol and a brick were thrown at the building, but neither bottle ignited.Police have said a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, or Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, has claimed responsibility for most of the recent attacks in Britain. Authorities are investigating possible links to Iran, though they have not publicly alleged direct state control over the synagogue arson case.“We will not rest until those responsible for these acts are held to full account,” Evans said, as police stepped up patrols around synagogues and other Jewish community sites in north London.The post UK synagogue arson suspect pleads guilty, but denies he’s antisemitic appeared first on World Israel News.