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Greece Arrests 7, Including 2 Iranians, over Arson Attacks on Israeli-owned Hotel

Police officers patrol alongside a steel wall at Evros river, near the Greek village of Poros. (AP file photo)
Police officers patrol alongside a steel wall at Evros river, near the Greek village of Poros. (AP file photo)
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Greece Arrests 7, Including 2 Iranians, over Arson Attacks on Israeli-owned Hotel

Police officers patrol alongside a steel wall at Evros river, near the Greek village of Poros. (AP file photo)
Police officers patrol alongside a steel wall at Evros river, near the Greek village of Poros. (AP file photo)

Greece's anti-terrorism police have arrested seven people over arson attacks against an Israeli-owned hotel and a synagogue in central Athens this year, police said in a statement on Thursday.

A 25-year-old Greek woman, two Iranians aged 46 and 36 and an Afghan accomplice, 44, were arrested over a May 15 attack with a makeshift incendiary bomb on a building housing an Israeli-owned hotel and restaurant, according to Reuters.

The four were accused of arson that could potentially put human lives at risk and of causing damage to foreign-owned property in a racially motivated attack.

In another incident on June 18, a 44-year old Greek man and a 26-year old Afghan rode near a synagogue in Athens on a motorcycle and threw flammable material at its entrance causing fire, police said. A police official said a 30-year-old Iranian had been arrested as their accomplice.

The three were accused of arson, gun possession and robbery among other violations, the official added.

Police have seized evidence including mobile phones found in a residence in Athens and a prison.

Five of those arrested have been detained and two released on restrictions while awaiting trial.

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White House's Sullivan: Weakened Iran Could Pursue Nuclear Weapon

FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
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White House's Sullivan: Weakened Iran Could Pursue Nuclear Weapon

FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

The Biden administration is concerned that a weakened Iran could build a nuclear weapon, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, adding that he was briefing President-elect Donald Trump's team on the risk.
Iran has suffered setbacks to its regional influence after Israel's assaults on its allies, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, followed by the fall of Iran-aligned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran's conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.
"It's no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, 'Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now ... Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear doctrine'," Sullivan said.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021 presidential term, pulled out of a deal between Tehran and world powers that put restrictions on Iran's nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.
Sullivan said that there was a risk that Iran might abandon its promise not to build nuclear weapons.
"It's a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It's a risk that I'm personally briefing the incoming team on," Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with US ally Israel.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could return to his hardline Iran policy by stepping up sanctions on Iran's oil industry. Sullivan said Trump would have an opportunity to pursue diplomacy with Tehran, given Iran's "weakened state."
"Maybe he can come around this time, with the situation Iran finds itself in, and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs Iran's nuclear ambitions for the long term," he said.