Israeli embassy plot was attempt to derail Iran-US nuclear talks

Iran’s notorious Revolutionary Guard plotted the alleged terrorist attack on Israel’s embassy in London to derail nuclear peace talks with the US, insiders have told The Telegraph.

Sources inside the regime suggested a hardline faction within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is to blame for sanctioning an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, central London.

The “imminent” attack was allegedly foiled by MI5 and counter-terrorism police after a series of raids across the country on Saturday.

The Telegraph understands that the alleged plot involved gunmen launching an assault on the embassy, a stone’s throw from Kensington Palace in central London.

Iran has officially denied involvement in the attack and even suggested the alleged plot was a “false flag” operation staged by Iran’s enemies to discredit the regime.

But a senior Iranian official told The Telegraph that an inquiry had been launched inside the IRGC amid concerns that a faction had gone rogue and sanctioned the alleged attack in an attempt to collapse ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme.

An Iranian attack on Israel’s London embassy would have sparked international outrage and forced the US into cancelling talks. The alleged plot was unusual in that Iran in the past has typically utilised proxies – hiring local gangsters and criminals to attempt assassinations and kidnappings.

The arrest of the four Iranian suspects makes it harder for Tehran to distance itself from any proven blame. However, employing Iranian nationals to carry out the alleged attack would make sense if a breakaway faction inside the IRGC wanted the blame to fall on Iran.

The senior official, speaking from Tehran, said: “Not everyone in the Sepah [IRGC] is happy with the talks with the Americans, and an investigation has begun to understand what’s going on with these arrests. . . In addition to discontent inside Iran, we also know that many of our regional allies are unhappy about the negotiations – they might have planned it.

“They could have targeted Israeli assets anywhere in the region, but they chose London, the heart of Europe, because that’s the only way to disrupt the [nuclear] negotiations. We are almost certain that whoever did it was motivated by the progress being made in the talks.”