The Met Police said in a statement that "three men have been arrested following an attempted arson attack on the offices of a Persian language media organisation in north-west London".

Police said this "is not being treated as a terrorist incident but is being investigated by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London".

The Met Police linked the attack to two recent arson incidents targeting ambulances and a Jewish charity and a synagogue, saying they are being treated as separate incidents but noting a "similarity" between the attacks.

A spokesman for the Persian-language TV station Iran International confirmed to AFP that it was the "organisation referred to in the Met statement".

Iran International is one of several Persian?language outlets critical of Iran's clerical leadership operating from abroad.

Housed in a heavily-secured building in west London, the newsroom employs about 200 journalists, with correspondents in Washington, Paris, Berlin and Tel Aviv and was labelled a "terrorist organisation" by Tehran in 2022.

Police said officers patrolling saw an "ignited container" thrown towards a building in Wembley, which landed in a car park and caused no damage or injuries.

Police said the officers chased the suspects who fled in a black car, which later crashed.

At that point, "a boy aged 16 and two men aged 19 and 21 were arrested on suspicion of arson endangering life and taken into police custody where they remain", police said.

Police revealed the incident after reporting an attempted arson attack on a synagogue, shortly after midnight on Wednesday in north London.

Attackers in dark clothing and balaclavas threw bottles suspected to contain petrol at a synagogue in Finchley but did not cause any damage.

A 47-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man were later detained in Watford north of the capital.

- 'Endangering life' -

The little-known Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) group, has claimed responsibility for the attack as well as for the incident at Iran International, SITE Intelligence Group reported.

The same group claimed to be behind the torching of a Jewish charity's ambulances in Golders Green in north London on March 23.

At a media briefing Thursday, the Met Police's deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans said police are "aware" of the group and its claims, which are "one of our main lines of inquiry".

She said police are treating the three arson incidents as separate but "we are fully aware that they are all similar in nature".

Police have charged three people over the ambulance attack and Evans said police made "two further arrests" Thursday.

"Two 18-year-old men were arrested at separate addresses in east London", one on suspicion of committing arson with intent to endanger life, and one on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson, Evans said.