Three arrested after incendiary device thrown at London media building

An ignited container was thrown toward the premises of a Persian-language media organisation in Wembley, north-west London, at about 20:30 BST on Wednesday, 15 April 2026, but it landed in a car park and went out almost immediately. Police said there was no damage and nobody was injured, though nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution.

The suspects left the scene in a black SUV, which was pursued by an Armed Response Vehicle before crashing on Ballards Lane near the junction with Woodberry Gardens in N12. A 16-year-old boy and two men aged 19 and 21 were arrested on suspicion of arson endangering life and remained in custody.

Counter Terrorism Policing London is leading the investigation with support from North West Command Area officers, but police said the case was not being treated as a terrorist incident at this stage. Officers also said it was not currently being linked to the attempted arson in Finchley this week or to last month’s arson attack in Golders Green.

Reporting indicates the target was Iran International, the UK-based Persian-language television network owned by Volant Media. The incident places renewed scrutiny on the security faced by diaspora media organisations that report on politically sensitive issues and have long drawn hostility from abroad.

Iran International said in 2023 that it was leaving the UK because of threats against its London-based journalists. The network’s presenter Pouria Zeraati was also stabbed outside his home in Wimbledon in March 2024, in an assault that drew a counter-terrorism investigation and intensified concern about threats directed at exiled reporters.

Taken together, the Wembley attack and the earlier violence involving Iran International underline the vulnerability of foreign-language media outlets operating in London, especially those covering regimes or conflicts that can spill over into British streets. The police response, the arrests and the counter-terror lead all point to a case being treated with seriousness, even as investigators stop short of classing it as terrorism for now.