Three people have been arrested after a suspected terror plot near the Champs-Élysées, which could be linked to the US-Iran war, was thwarted on Saturday.
The alarm was raised when a man allegedly attempted to plant a makeshift incendiary device near the Paris headquarters of Bank of America in the French capital.
According to a police source, the device contained around five litres of liquid believed to be fuel, along with an ignition mechanism.
Officers swooped on the scene and detained the initial suspect, while a second individual who was reportedly filming the incident on a mobile phone fled before police could apprehend them.
The incident unfolded at approximately 03.30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Saturday in Paris’s prestigious 8th arrondissement, just a short distance from the world-famous Champs-Élysées.
In a swift development, France‘s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office confirmed that two additional suspects were arrested on Sunday as part of the widening investigation.
‘Two further individuals were taken into police custody last night as part of the investigation launched on March 28, 2026, into the offences committed against Bank of America,’ the prosecutor’s office said on Sunday.
Authorities also revealed that the first suspect, who is a minor, remains in custody after his detention was extended under France’s strict anti-terror laws.
Three people have been arrested after a suspected terror plot near the Champs-Élysées
Policemen and police vehicles are seen near the branch of the Bank of America in Paris, France, March 28, 2026
Under French legislation, individuals held in connection with terrorism cases can be detained for up to 96 hours, with the possibility of further extensions if authorised by a judge.
France’s Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, suggested the attempted terror attack may be linked to escalating tensions in the Middle East, particularly the ongoing US-Israel war involving Iran.
‘In this type of conflict, you have a number of Iranian services that are likely to carry out actions such as these through proxies,’ he said.
‘There is a significant suspicion, but it is for the investigation to determine.’
However, the Iranian embassy in France has yet to respond to the minister’s remarks.
Investigators are now working to establish whether the suspects were acting alone or as part of a broader network, amid growing fears of retaliatory attacks across Europe.
Nuñez warned that similar plots have been disrupted in several countries, including France, the Netherlands, Britain, and Norway, and called for heightened vigilance nationwide.
He urged security services to be ‘extra vigilant’ and increase their presence at transport hubs and other sensitive locations.
France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office confirmed it had immediately taken charge of the case, which centres on allegations of ‘attempted damage by fire or other dangerous means in connection with a terrorist undertaking’ and a ‘terrorist criminal conspiracy’.
Specialist officers from the Paris judicial police, alongside agents from France’s domestic intelligence agency, the General Directorate for Internal Security, are now leading the high-stakes investigation.
