As the war in Iran has escalated over the last few weeks, a spate of attacks has targeted both American government buildings and Jewish communities across Europe.

On March 8th, an explosion struck the U.S. embassy in Oslo, leaving no casualties. Norwegian police later said they were investigating whether the attack was carried out on behalf of a foreign government.

The next day, on March 9th, an explosion hit a synagogue in the city of Liege in Belgium, causing significant damage to the temple and surrounding buildings. The Belgian government has since deployed soldiers to reinforce security at Jewish sites across the country.

Later that week, on March 13th, a synagogue in the Dutch city of Rotterdam was also targeted in an arson attack. The following day, an explosion targeted a Jewish school in Amsterdam, and is being investigated by Dutch authorities for possible Iranian involvement.

And, just a few days ago on March 23rd, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community charity in London were set on fire in another arson attack. British counter-terrorism police are reportedly leading the investigation. This followed news that two Iranian men were arrested and charged in the UK with alleged surveillance of Jewish targets on behalf of Iran.

A new group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, or The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Righteous, has since claimed responsibility for these attacks. The group’s social media activity is reportedly directed through channels linked to militia groups aligned with Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. However, it is still unclear what formal connections this group has, if any, to Iran and its proxies.

What is clear is that further escalation in the Iran war is likely to produce more plots and violence in coming days and weeks, with local communities paying the price.

We spoke to former US counterterrorism official Michael Jacobson about how the United States led global efforts to counter precisely these types of terrorist threats for years. Mike oversaw the international coordination and planning wing of the U.S. Department of State’s Counterterrorism Bureau until 2025. Since then, the Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from several international counterterrorism organizations earlier this year. We spoke with Mike about the impacts of this decision, and how the United States went from a position of global counterterrorism leadership, to a position of leadership in decline.

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