French authorities have taken two additional suspects into custody over a foiled attack targeting Bank of America’s Paris offices, the country’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office confirmed Sunday.
“Two further individuals were taken into police custody last night as part of the investigation launched on March 28, 2026 into the offenses committed against Bank of America,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement to Reuters.
The custody of the first suspect, a minor arrested on Saturday, has been extended, it added.
Under French law, individuals suspected of terrorism can be held for up to 96 hours, with potential extensions subject to judicial approval.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor noted that the investigation, opened on Saturday, concerns attempted destruction by fire or other dangerous means, as well as the manufacture, possession, and transport of an explosive or incendiary device.
When asked about possible sponsors behind the attack, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez pointed to suspicions involving Iran, while cautioning that no conclusion has yet been reached.
“In this type of conflict, you have a number of Iranian services that are likely to carry out actions such as these through proxies… There is a significant suspicion, but it is for the investigation to determine,” he said.
The Iranian embassy in France declined to comment on Nunez’s remarks.
The case has been assigned to Paris’ police judicial unit and France’s domestic intelligence agency.
Nunez described how police acted early Saturday morning in Paris’ 8th arrondissement after a patrol assigned to protecting sensitive sites noticed two individuals attempting to ignite an improvised explosive device outside the bank.
“One individual was trying to light an improvised explosive device made with a container likely containing hydrocarbons and a crude ignition system, while another was filming,” Nunez told BFM TV late Saturday.
He emphasized that the rudimentary device could have been lethal and that officers prevented it from being detonated.
Authorities believe the suspects were “common-law” offenders serving as paid intermediaries, a pattern Nunez said fits a known modus operandi involving proxies.
He noted that investigators have found similarities with incidents across Europe, including in the Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, and Norway, where improvised devices have targeted locations linked to US interests.
