French authorities are investigating a man suspected of having ties to Iran after that prevent a bomb attack outside the Bank of America building in Paris over the weekend, the interior minister said on Monday.
Authorities suspect links to Iran due to similarities with other recent attempted attacks in Europe whichIran the group claimed responsibility, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.
On Saturday morning, Paris police officers saw two suspects carrying a shopping bag near the Bank of America in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital.
Five suspects have been arrested, including two on Monday, and the national counter-terrorism prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into terrorism-related offences.
The authorities are making “direct contact” with Iran because “the modus operandi is in every way similar to the steps that have been taken in the Netherlands and Belgium”, Nunez said on French radio RTL on Monday morning.
In those cases there were allegations of a pro-Iranian group that “involved them in the conflict” there Middle Easthe said.
