France investigates possible Iran link after bomb attack foiled outside Bank of America

French authorities are investigating a suspected link to Iran after thwarting a bomb attack outside a Bank of America building in Paris at the weekend, the interior minister said on Monday.The authorities suspect a link to Iran due to similarities to other recent attempted attacks in Europe which a pro-Iran group claimed responsibility for, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.On Saturday morning, Paris police officers spotted two suspects carrying a shopping bag near the Bank of America in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital.Five suspects have been arrested, including two on Monday, and the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into alleged terror-related offences.Authorities are making a “direct link” with Iran because the “modus operandi is in every respect similar to actions that have been carried out in the Netherlands and in Belgium”, Nunez said on French radio RTL on Monday morning.In those cases there were claims by a pro-Iranian group that “linked them to the conflict” in the Middle East, he said.