Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Arabic: حركة أصحاب اليمين الإسلامية, lit. 'Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand'), commonly known as Ashab al-Yamin or HAYI, is a group that emerged in March 2026, following the outbreak of the 2026 Iran war.^[1] It has taken credit for attacks against Jewish synagogues and schools,^[2] volunteer Jewish ambulances,^[3] and Western financial institutions, all of which the group characterizes as "Zionist interests".^[4][5] While Israeli and European officials characterize HAYI as a recently founded Iranian proxy,^[6][7] other European authorities and independent analysts have questioned its authenticity, citing internal inconsistencies and a lack of evidence linking the group to any state or organized network.^[1][8][9]

The organization distributes "proof-of-crime" videos via Telegram channels associated with the "Axis of Resistance" to claim its operations.^[4][1]

These claims began on March 9, following an explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, which caused material damage but no injuries.^[10][1] On March 13, an arson attack targeted a synagogue in Rotterdam, Netherlands; Dutch police subsequently arrested four suspects, aged 17–19, from Tilburg, whom prosecutors alleged acted with "terrorist intent".^[11][12] The following day, an explosion occurred at a Jewish school in the Buitenveldert district of Amsterdam. Security footage from the scene showed two individuals on a motor scooter placing a device against the building's exterior wall.^[10][1]

On March 16, an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated at the Atrium office complex in Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district. The explosion targeted a branch of the Bank of New York Mellon, resulting in property damage but no fatalities.^[4][5] On March 23, four Hatzolah ambulances were destroyed by arson in Golders Green, London. CCTV footage of the incident captured three hooded individuals pouring an accelerant onto the vehicles, which led to the explosion of onboard oxygen cylinder.^[8][13][11] Two British nationals, aged 45 and 47, were detained on March 24 on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, and released on bail the following day.^[14]

On March 24, a car was set on fire in Antwerp's Jewish quarter in what Belgian authorities suspected was an antisemitic attack. Two underaged individuals were arrested in connection with the incident, which HAYI took responsibility for.^[15][16][17]

Analysis by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) and Tech Against Terrorism suggested that HAYI may be an "astroturfed" brand rather than an organic grassroots cell.^[1][18] According to the ICCT, the group's primary Telegram account was created in 2023 but remained dormant until the 2026 attacks, with claim videos often appearing there only after being disseminated by pro-Iranian channels. A second account, created on March 21, 2021, published a claim for the London attack before other channels, though it contained inconsistencies such as a misspelled Arabic name likely resulting from an incorrect English translation.^[1]

The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism noted that the group's name shares nomenclature with an Iraqi militia previously designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. Israeli officials suggested that the timing of the group's activation may be linked to reports of the death of a high-ranking pro-Iranian militia leader in Iraq, raising the possibility that the European attacks were intended as retaliation.^[6][5]

Experts have highlighted several "unsophisticated" errors that deviate from standard Islamist rhetoric. The group's Arabic logo misspells the word "Islamic" (al-Islamia), and its imagery features a Soviet SVD Dragunov sniper rifle instead of the AK-47 motifs standard among Iran-backed proxies.^[1][19]

In a series of messages with CBS News, the administrator of the HAYI Telegram channel, writing in American-inflected English, justified the attacks using Christian and Jewish philosophical references while omitting the Islamic nasheeds (chants) and theology typical of jihadist media. Analysts also noted a total absence of Persian in the group's communications, despite its alleged alignment with Tehran. Shortly after being questioned by journalists about the group's structure and funding, the Telegram administrator deleted their account.^[9]

According to The Wall Street Journal, European authorities suspect that HAYI is a fictitious group created by Iran to take credit for attacks orchestrated by Iranian intelligence, giving them plausible deniability and confusing investigators.^[7] Security sources speaking to The Guardian cautioned against a "rush to tie Iran" to the incidents, leaving open the possibility of localized attacks with no link to any organized group.^[20] No definitive tie to Iran has been established, and analysts suggest the group carries "hints of amateurism" that argue against direct execution by professional Iranian intelligence operatives.^[19] Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel stated that the teenagers arrested in Rotterdam were "most likely recruited", supporting the theory that an actor may be outsourcing sabotage to local criminals or "disaffected teenagers" to maintain "operational ambiguity".^[1][12]

•  Israel: Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli stated that the group represents a "new face" of Iranian efforts to export terrorism to European soil and called for increased security cooperation.^[6][5]

•  Netherlands: Justice Minister David van Weel confirmed an Iranian link is being "explicitly investigated," but noted that no conclusive connection has yet been proven.^[12]

•  United Kingdom: Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Metropolitan Police characterized the London arson as a "shocking antisemitic hate crime."^[8][11]

• Iran–Israel proxy conflict
• Antisemitism during the 2026 Iran war

• Israeli government special report into the group

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