Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans paced the damp pavement of North London after a synagogue was scorched on a quiet Saturday night. The minor blaze is the latest in a string of attacks that have the city’s elite looking over their shoulders. A group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia has claimed the arson online. Police are now investigating whether these are the work of Iranian proxies hiding in plain sight.

The incidents have been hitting close to home for the diplomatic and social set. Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity were torched in Golders Green on March 23, and a Persian-language media office has also been targeted. Extra uniformed and plainclothes officers have been flooded into northwest London to keep the peace. Security experts warn that the group’s name might just be a flag of convenience for more sinister state actors.

So far, no one has been injured in the blazes, but the damage to the social fabric is undeniable. The Iranian regime’s alleged use of criminal proxies has turned quiet neighborhoods into a geopolitical chessboard. It is a tacky intrusion of global conflict into the pristine streets of the capital. The message from the police is clear: the sirens in North London aren't just for show anymore.