London — A group that has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks targeting Jewish institutions across Europe told CBS News it will continue targeting U.S. and Israeli interests a day after three men were captured by security cameras torching ambulances used by a global Jewish medical organization in London. 

Hours later, the little-known group claimed responsibility for another attack, in which a car was burned in a Jewish neighborhood in Antwerp, Belgium.

“We’ll keep threatening U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide until we’ve avenged every child in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and the resistance nations,” a person representing the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia group (which translates as: The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Righteous) told CBS News late Monday. “We urge people to stay away from Zionist and American interests and individuals to keep themselves safe.”

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia first announced its existence in early March, after the U.S. and Israel launched the ongoing war on Iran. In the 25 days since, it has claimed a series of antisemitic attacks across Europe. The group’s channel on the Telegram messaging app, where it has published a series of propaganda videos, was created just last week.

Iranian terror, Russian terror, “disaffected teenagers” after easy money, or all of the above?

The shadowy group “looks less like a grassroots European cell that came out of nowhere and more like an astroturfed terror brand that has appeared suddenly in online ecosystems, plugged into an existing Iran-aligned network and experimenting with low-cost, high-visibility operations in Europe,” Lucas Webber, a senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, told CBS News.

CBS News spoke to the administrator of Ashab al-Yamin’s Telegram channel, who exchanged a series of messages — writing in American English — that ranged from explanatory to combative. 

Posts on the account have repeatedly referenced Christian and Jewish philosophy to justify the group’s actions, but there have been no mentions of Islamic principles or teachings. Ashab al-Yamin’s claims have been published in English, Arabic and even Hebrew, but not in Persian, the primary language spoken in Iran.

The administrator told CBS News the group carried out the arson attack on the London ambulances belonging to the United Hatzalah organization at night to avoid harming people, but the individual warned that approach could change, saying: “We can do it, potentially.”

The administrator, who referred to themself as Asad-Allah, cited the conflicts in Gaza and Iran as justification for targeting Jewish cultural and community centers, as well as a building housing the Dutch office of the Bank of New York Mellon. The latter incident came after Iran threatened to target U.S. financial institutions in the Middle East in retaliation for the ongoing war.

“They appear to be volunteer or paid recruits solicited by pro-Iran elements,” said Sharon Adarlo, a conflict analyst and editor with the online publication Militant Wire.

Adarlo said she expected further attacks by the group, and possibly copycat actions.

While the videos published by the group online have been unsophisticated and amateurish so far, “the danger is that, as this war continues, attacks will be bigger,” Adarlo told CBS News. “Whoever is behind the group wants to make a statement.”

Prior to the London arson attack, Ashab al-Yamin had claimed responsibility for three other confirmed incidents, primarily targeting Jewish sites in three cities in Belgium and the Netherlands. Early Tuesday, it said it had burned cars on a prominent street in Antwerp, Belgium, in a neighborhood with a large Jewish population. 

Two days before the first attack, in which someone detonated an improvised explosive in front of a synagogue in Liege, Belgium, a call went out on Telegram channels for Iranian “sleeper cells to activate,” Adarlo said.

The attacks bear a resemblance to other arson and vandalism incidents throughout Europe, including fires set at Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s former home and Ukrainian businesses in the U.K., and vandalism at Jewish cultural and religious centers in France. 

CBS News has tracked dozens of cases in Europe, going back years, that court documents and other evidence show have involved people — predominately young men and often Ukrainian immigrants — recruited via Telegram and other social media platforms with the promise of easy work for cash or cryptocurrency. 

A common factor in most of these cases has been the involvement of intelligence agencies linked to Iran’s close ally, Russia, according to recent research by the The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

While two of the men jailed for organizing the arson attack on an East London warehouse owned by a Ukrainian businessman were found to have willingly acted on behalf of Russia, European court records show that, in some cases, the suspects were unaware of the wider goals of those paying them, or even who they were working for.

Adarlo said she wasn’t sure how, or even if, the suspects in the Ashab al-Yamin cases were connected to Iran. 

“They could be volunteers who contacted IRGC via Telegram, or are being paid a small fee, used by pro-Iran elements to cause trouble,” she said, adding that she could not rule out a possible “organized criminal element” in the group’s actions

Dutch police have arrested five teenagers in connection with a March 13 explosion at a synagogue in Rotterdam that was claimed by Ashab al-Yamin. Two minors were arrested in connection with the Antwerp arson, meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office in the Belgian city told CBS News on Tuesday.

A spokesperson said the two were yet to be questioned and investigators were still considering “all possibilities,” but that the prosecutor was aware of the video purportedly of the incident circulating on social media.

“I think many of these perps are disaffected teenagers who don’t have the strongest ties to Iran … but want to be part of the opposition,” Adarlo explained, noting that Ashab al-Yamin’s videos have included orchestral music rather than the Islamic “nasheeds” commonly used as soundtracks on jihadist propaganda videos.

Webber, the Tech Against Terrorism analyst, told CBS News the propaganda clips are low-budget and can be pushed rapidly onto social media platforms “to generate psychological impact, media coverage, and an exaggerated sense of reach.”

Ashab al-Yamin’s “ideological language and propaganda style” suggest a hybrid model of local clusters potentially guided from abroad, rather than a large organization based in one country, like a franchised brand, the analyst said.

The amateur nature of the videos and their recent emergence on social media could also point to an opportunist group looking to take credit for other people’s attacks, Neil Basu, a former head of U.K. Counterterrorism Policing, told CBS News. “ISIS used to take credit for every attack by an Islamist anywhere in the world because their view was, ‘We may not have directed it, but we’ve inspired it.’ So, that may be a similar thing playing out here.”

Even “amateurish” attacks and propaganda have an impact

Acts carried out through proxies are “incredibly useful” for state sponsors of terror because they can be disruptive, but give the sponsoring regimes plausible deniability, enabling them to avoid escalation toward a conflict they may not be able to win, Basu said. 

“It doesn’t matter that it’s amateurish” if the attack “sows a bit of chaos and … does divert resources into trying to protect places,” he said.

The Ashab al-Yamin administrator did not answer questions about the group’s structure or whether anyone was being paid, and they deleted their Telegram account shortly after the conversation with CBS News.

The State Department on Sunday urged Americans around the world to “exercise increased caution,” noting that, in addition to U.S. diplomatic facilities being targeted in the Middle East and elsewhere, “groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or locations associated with the United States and/or Americans throughout the world.”

What are European nations doing to address the attacks, and the threat?

London’s Metropolitan Police announced on Wednesday the arrest of two men in connection with the ambulance attack. The men were both detained in London and were described only as being 45 and 47 years old, and they were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. Their nationalities were not provided.

The police statement said searches were ongoing at two residences, and the force’s counterterrorism Commander Helen Flanagan said the arrests appeared “to be an important breakthrough in the investigation, but we’re also mindful that CCTV footage of the incident suggests there were at least three people involved. We fully recognise the local community will still be concerned and our investigation very much remains active and we will continue to work to identify and seek to arrest all of those who may have been involved.”

Previously the force had said it was “aware of an online claim from a group taking responsibility for the attack and enquiries are ongoing to establish the authenticity and accuracy of this claim.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, in charge of the North West London area where the incident occurred, acknowledged “heightened” community concerns and said an “enhanced, bespoke policing plan and activity, which is particularly focused around vulnerable areas right across London, will continue over coming days and weeks.”

“This includes specialist officers and capability being deployed alongside local officers to help protect certain locations and will also involve highly visible armed police patrols to serve as a deterrent to anyone seeking to cause our communities harm,” Williams said, adding that the measures were “precautionary and not in response to any specific threat.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer had earlier condemned the arson attack as “horrifying” and said he would remain in contact with Jewish community leaders, vowing to “fight the poison that is antisemitism.”

Basu warned against jumping to any conclusions about the London arson being sponsored directly by Iran’s government or military, or an Iranian state-backed proxy group, and he said the London police force had the skills and expertise to make that determination.

Soldiers have been deployed on the streets of Belgian cities recently to provide extra security after attacks on Jewish sites in Belgium and next door in the Netherlands. 

The Belgian Ministry of Defense confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday that, following a request by the country’s federal police force, a three-month operation began on Monday involving about 100 military personnel deployed to “contribute to the protection of Jewish schools and synagogues in Brussels and Antwerp, as well as the Israeli Embassy.”

The ministry said “Operation Green Shield” could be increased to a deployment of 200 troops “if necessary.”

Italy has implemented similar measures around prominent Jewish institutions for some time. 

CBS News asked Europol, the European Union’s agency that supports member states’ in “preventing and combatting all forms of serious international and organized crime, cybercrime and terrorism,” if it was taking any specific action to prevent future attacks, given Ashab al-Yamin’s threat. 

A spokesperson said the pan-European agency “does not deal with preventative” matters. 

“We support police investigations,” the spokesperson said, referring further enquiries to individual member nations’ respective authorities.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — As U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for change in Cuba’s leadership, speculation is mounting about who, if anyone, might replace Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

As Raúl Castro’s handpicked largely figurehead successor in 2018, Díaz-Canel has been the only leader without the last name Castro to govern since the 1959 revolution. He still has two years left in his term —- but some experts and a growing number of Cubans doubt he’ll make it.

Two Castro cousins have come into focus as potential replacements, experts said.

Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga — Raúl Castro’s 55-year-old great nephew — has shot to power since emerging from obscurity several years ago. He became minister of Cuba’s influential Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment in May 2024 and was appointed the island’s deputy prime minister in October.

By contrast, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro — Raúl Castro’s grandson — has never occupied a government post, having served as his grandfather’s bodyguard and later as head of Cuba’s equivalent of the U.S. Secret Service. He has long been known as “Raulito,” or “Little Raúl” and is new to the spotlight cast on high-ranking government officials.

But he made news last month when he secretly met on the sidelines of a Caribbean Community summit in St. Kitts with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. At the time, Rubio refused to say who he was speaking to in the Cuban government.

“The role Raulito is playing right now is the connection between Raúl Castro and whoever is on the U.S. side,” said Sebastián Arcos, interim director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University. “He enjoys the absolute trust of Raúl Castro.”

But, Arcos and other experts argue, even should someone with the Castro pedigree take the presidency, little is likely to change.

“Party leadership doesn’t mean anything in Cuba,” Arcos said. “The party is just a hollow façade. The real power resides in the military, under Raúl Castro.”

The 94-year-old remains at the helm as general, appears at key events and is considered the most powerful person in Cuba, a country subject to more than six decades of absolute rule, first by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, and then for the past decade, his younger brother Raúl.

And that is unlikely to change.

“The most significant thing that we have to consider for the last 30 years in Cuba is the absolute reluctance of this regime to implement serious structural economic reforms,” Arcos said. “Asking them for political reforms would be too much.”

Pérez-Oliva studied electrical engineering before becoming director general of an import company and then business director within Cuba’s Mariel Special Development Zone. That’s all the Cuban government has officially shared on Pérez-Oliva.

Online, there are barely traces of him; he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. His X account is private and inscribed with this sentiment: “Committed to the Revolution and to the ideas of FIDEL.”

Pérez-Oliva until only recently became a public figure, traveling with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez to Russia and Vietnam earlier this year. He also made a public appearance in early February, when a massive blackout hit Cuba’s western region. While other high-ranking officials solely blamed the U.S. energy blockade, Pérez-Oliva acknowledged otherwise.

“We don’t want to justify ourselves with the blockade; there are a number of internal deficiencies,” he said in a TV interview with state media.

A key achievement came in December, when Pérez-Oliva was named a deputy within Cuba’s National Assembly Popular Power — a requirement for any Cuban president.

Carlos M. Rodríguez Arechavaleta, a Cuba expert and professor at the Iberoamerican University in Mexico City, said Pérez-Oliva has the profile of a technocrat with commercial negotiation skills. “This could be a more ideological figure … a more technocratic, potentially reformist-oriented official,” he said.

Arcos said he believes that Díaz-Canel could “very well be replaced” by Pérez-Oliva.

“This man looks more proper, more polished. He has been through more important positions,” Arcos said. “This is a family business.”

Rodríguez Castro is the son of Raúl Castro’s oldest daughter, and his father is Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja — one of Cuba’s most powerful figures who ran GAESA, the military’s long-standing business wing, before his unexpected death in July 2022.

In his youth, Rodríguez Castro became a fixture at Cuba’s music and party scenes. During his public appearances, people would poke each other with an elbow and whisper, ‘That’s El Cangrejo’ — a nickname that means “The Crab,” because he was born with an extra finger.

He went to military school and became Raúl Castro’s bodyguard, accompanying him on trips abroad. Rodríguez Castro was later promoted to head of the Cuban equivalent of the U.S. Secret Service, but with a mission to spy on the country’s leadership, Arcos said.

Then, on March 13, experts noted that Rodríguez Castro was present at a government meeting with Díaz-Canel, when he announced that Cuba had held talks with the U.S. government. He also was present at the news conference that followed.

It was a rare public appearance tied to government business — and drew some public scrutiny from ordinary Cubans.

“The Crab doesn’t have a position there, so I don’t know why he was there,” said 20-year-old Maday Beltrán Acosta. “People posted a lot of comments about it.”

Beltrán Acosta said she also is bothered by Rodríguez Castro’s social media posts because they feature “abundant food.”

“The people are suffering while he enjoys life,” she said.

But Arcos said he doesn’t believe Rodríguez Castro could be Cuba’s next president, at least in public, because his name would reflect a continuation of the island’s current leadership, not a change as demanded by Trump and Rubio.

“He cannot be the transitional figure,” Arcos said, “because his last name disqualifies him.”

While speculation remains rampant over whether Cuba might have a new president before Díaz-Canel’s term expires, experts note he is an unpopular leader.

He ordered a crackdown following the July 2021 anti-government protests that stemmed from food shortages, the largest of their kind in decades.

Under Díaz-Canel, Cuba’s economic and energy crises have deepened.

“The living conditions of the population are on the verge of a humanitarian crisis,” said Rodríguez Arechavaleta. “The social situation is already unsustainable.”

Arcos added: “He’s a man with a pot belly in a country where everybody is trying to find (something) to eat.”

Last week, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío refuted comments about a possible change in the political system or the departure of Díaz-Canel as part of ongoing talks with the U.S.

“The Cuban political system is not up for negotiation, nor is the president, nor the position of any official in Cuba, subject to negotiation with the United States or with the government of any other country,” Fernández de Cossío told reporters.

Arcos, the Cuban expert, said he cannot imagine Raúl Castro relinquishing power but believes Díaz-Canel could be replaced, referring to him as “a gray apparatchik” within the party when he was appointed president.

He noted that Castro’s eventual death “would be the kind of shock that would crack the regime.”

“No one really knows who’s coming up to replace him,” Arcos said. “For the first time ever in Cuba, you have the possibility of several people struggling for power.”

___

Associated Press reporter Milexsy Durán in Havana contributed.