Jewish volunteer ambulances set on fire in London investigated as hate crime: Police
Firefighters at the scene in Highfield Road, Golders Green, London, after an apparent arson attack on four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service in London. (Photo by Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The Metropolitan Police in London is investigating an apparent arson attack on four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service, Hatzalah, in the early hours of Monday morning.
Officials said the arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
No injuries were reported and the fires have been put out, police said. Nearby houses were evacuated as a precaution.
“This is a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on social media. “My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news. Antisemitism has no place in our society.”
Police Superintendent Sarah Jackson said in a statement that no arrests have been made, but they believe there are three suspects involved.
“We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern and officers remain on scene to carry out urgent enquiries,” Jackson said. “We are in the process of examining CCTV and are aware of online footage. We believe we are looking for three suspects at this early stage.”
Police said there were reports of explosions in the fire, which they said is believed to be linked to gas canisters on the ambulances.
People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks, in Jerusalem on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — In announcing the U.S. military strike on Iran, President Donald Trump went significantly beyond his previous justification of destroying the country’s nuclear program.
He’s now also calling for regime change — and encouraging the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their government.
Three sources briefed on the attack told ABC News that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were both targeted during the strikes.
But whether American bombing could help make regime change happen — without also deploying U.S. forces on the ground — was unclear, as was who might replace Iran’s current leaders.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump announced in a video posted to his social media account early Saturday morning.
Speaking to what he called “the great, proud people of Iran,” he added, “I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand.”
“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations,” he said.
“For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want, so let’s see how you respond.” he said.
“America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach,” he said.
Shortly after, in a brief phone call with a Washington Post reporter, the president said that all he wants is “freedom for the people” of Iran.
In January, during widespread protests in Iran when thousands of Iranians were reported killed, Trump posted on social media, “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING — TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”
“HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump added at the time, though he faced criticism for taking no further action at that point.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his own video statement Saturday echoed Trump’s call, saying the attack’s goal was “to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.”
Iran has claimed it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon and has the sovereign right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program for civilian purposes.
Imminent threat? Up to now, Trump has said he preferred a diplomatic solution and has not presented a clear justification for why strikes are needed now, since he has repeatedly insisted Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated” in U.S. strikes he ordered last June — a claim he repeated at last week’s State of the Union address.
In making his new case for the strikes, the president is arguing attacks are warranted to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime” without providing clear evidence of that.
Trump also argued Iranian missiles could “soon” reach the U.S — but the president has provided no details.
Iran is “developing long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland,” he said.
Yet, according to a one-page document released by the Defense Intelligence Agency earlier this year, Iran is looking to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035.
Just a few days ago, after the president’s State of the Union address, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Iranian missiles could reach the United States “one day.”
“Clearly, they are headed in a pathway to one day being able to develop weapons that can reach the continental U.S. They already possess weapons that can reach much of Europe already now as we speak, and the ranges continue to grow every single year exponentially,” Rubio said.
Whether the Iranian missile threat was “imminent” — and whether Congress should vote on committing American troops to an extensive military operation — aimed at pursuing such a broad goal of regime change in Iran — will likely dominate the debate when lawmakers return to Washington this week.
People take part in a rally in solidarity with protesters in Iran, on January 11, 2026 in London, England. (Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The death toll from mass protests in Iran has risen to 538, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) on Sunday.
The group says it has confirmed the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 members of security forces. 10,600 people also are recorded as having been arrested, according to HRANA.
The HRANA data relies on the work of activists inside and outside the country.
ABC News cannot independently verify these numbers. The Iranian government has not provided any death tolls during the ongoing protests.
Video footage shot by locals and posted to social media appeared to show thousands of people protesting in Tehran’s Punak Square on Saturday night despite reported efforts by government security forces to disperse crowds. Elsewhere, videos showed large crowds gathered in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
HRANA said in its Saturday update that it had recorded 574 protest locations across 185 cities and all 31 provinces of the country. Saturday marked the fourteenth day of protests, HRANA said.
The Iranian government has not released detailed statistics on casualties sustained among protesters. The state-aligned Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday that 109 security personnel had been killed in the protests.
HRANA and other human rights groups reported widespread and sustained internet outages across the country as the protests spread. Online monitoring group NetBlocks said early on Sunday that Iran’s “internet blackout” had surpassed 60 hours.
Protests have been spreading across the country since late December. The first marches took place in downtown Tehran, with participants demonstrating against rising inflation and the falling value of the national currency, the rial.
As the protests spread, some have taken on a more explicitly anti-government tone, with some protesters chanting slogans including “student, be the voice of your people,” and “death to Islamic Republic.”
The theocratic government in Tehran — headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — moved to tame the protests, with security forces reportedly using tear gas and live ammunition to disperse gatherings.
Khamenei and top Iranian officials have said they are willing to engage with the economic grievances of protesters, though have also framed the unrest as driven by “rioters” and sponsored by foreign nations, prime among them the U.S. and Israel.
In comments carried by Iranian state media, President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday blamed foreign “terrorists” for the protests but also addressed some of the issues that originally brought protesters out onto the streets.
“We are determined, and have decided, to resolve economic problems by any means possible,” Pezeshkian said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting Sunday that “Israel is closely following what is happening in Iran” and the ongoing “demonstrations for freedom” there.
“Israel supports their struggle for freedom and strongly condemns the mass massacres of innocent civilians,” Netanyahu further said. “We all hope that the Persian nation will soon be freed from the yoke of tyranny, and when that day comes, Israel and Iran will once again be loyal partners in building a future of prosperity and peace for both peoples.”
Dissident figures abroad, meanwhile, have urged Iranians to take to the street and overthrow the government. On Sunday, Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi addressed protesters in a post to X, saying, “Do not abandon the streets. My heart is with you. I know that I will soon be by your side.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Tehran against the use of force to suppress the protests. On Saturday, Trump wrote on social media, “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
An Israeli official told ABC News on Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Saturday about events unfolding in Iran.
Tehran, meanwhile, has warned against outside intervention. On Sunday, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf — the speaker of the Iranian parliament — said that the U.S. military and Israel will be “legitimate targets” in the event of American strikes on Iran.
A cargo plane comes into land with two US Air Force B-1 bombers in the foreground at RAF Fairford on March 11, 2026 in Fairford, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A drone sighting that temporarily raised alarms at one of the United States Air Force’s largest and most strategic airfields earlier this month was more extensive, and potentially more dangerous, than first reported, according to a confidential internal briefing document reviewed by ABC News.
Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana said it was under a shelter-in-place order March 9 after “a report of an unmanned aerial system operating over the installation.”
The sighting raised concerns because Barksdale houses long-range B-52 bombers and plays a critical role in command and control of the Air Force nuclear defense capabilities.
The shelter-in-place order was lifted later that day but the unauthorized drone flights continued for nearly a week.
“Barksdale Air Force Base detected multiple unauthorized drones operating in our airspace during the week of March 9th,” Capt. Hunter Rininger of the 2nd Bomb Wing said in a statement provided to ABC News. The additional drone incursions had not been previously reported.
According to the confidential briefing document dated March 15, the drones came in waves and entered and exited the base in a way that may suggest attempts to “avoid the operator(s) being located.” Lights on the drones suggested the operators “may be testing security responses” at the base.
“Between March 9-15, 2026, BAFB Security Forces observed multiple waves of 12-15 drones operating over sensitive areas of the installation, including the flight line, with aircraft displaying non-commercial signal characteristics, long-range control links and resistance to jamming,” the document said. “After reaching multiple points across the installation, the drones dispersed across sensitive locations on the base.”
According to the document there was no drone activity detected on March 13 and 14 and it’s not clear if there has been activity since.
The flights lasted around four hours each day and the drones used varied routes of ingress and deliberate maneuvering within restricted airspace.
“Certainly, it seemed to be more than just your average drone enthusiast who just pushed it too far,” said ABC News contributor Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. “It looked like this was deliberate and intentional to see just how they would react.”
The briefing includes a determination that the drones were different than what the typical consumer could purchase off the shelf. They appeared to be custom built and required “advanced knowledge” of signal operations.
The analysts said “with high confidence” they expected unauthorized drones to continue to operate in and around Barksdale Air Force Base in the immediate future.
“The drone incursions at BAFB pose a significant threat to public safety and national security since they require the flight line to be shut down while also putting manned aircrafts already inflight in the area at risk,” the document said.
The FAA referred ABC News to the military for comment. The Louisiana State Police, which is also assisting the investigation, declined to comment.
“Flying a drone over a military installation is not only a safety issue, it is a criminal offense under federal law. We are working closely with federal and local law enforcement agencies to investigate these incursions. The security of our installation and the safety of our people are top priorities, and we will continue to vigilantly monitor our airspace,” Capt. Rininger’s statement said.
