France Foils Bomb Plot at Bank of America Paris HQ; Suspect Recruited via Snapchat for €600

French police foiled a bomb attack outside the Paris headquarters of Bank of America early Friday morning, dismantling a device containing five liters of flammable liquid and 650 grams of explosive powder that had been placed on the Rue de la Boétie in the city's 8th arrondissement — a block from the Champs-Élysées and within sight of landmarks that draw millions of tourists annually. The initial suspect, arrested at the scene around 3:30 a.m. local time, told investigators he had been recruited through the social media app Snapchat and paid €600, approximately $692, to place the device.

French anti-terrorism prosecutors opened a formal investigation into "terrorist criminal conspiracy" within hours of the arrest, and on Saturday a second suspect was taken into custody, followed by a third on Sunday. The early-morning timing and the nature of the target — a major American financial institution — led investigators to focus almost immediately on the possibility that the attack was connected to the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran. A French intelligence source told Agence France-Presse that the plot appeared to be "the concretization of the Iranian threat against American and Israeli interests everywhere in Europe," though no formal attribution had been made public by Sunday evening.

The device was rendered safe by a bomb disposal unit before it could be detonated. Investigators said the construction suggested at least rudimentary operational knowledge; the combination of a large quantity of flammable liquid and explosive powder had the potential to cause a significant fire and blast in the dense urban setting. An accomplice present at the scene reportedly photographed or filmed the suspect placing the device — footage that investigators said was helping establish the full scope of the cell involved.

The attack came amid a period of heightened security across Europe in response to the Iran war. France's Vigipirate threat level — the country's equivalent of an alert status — has been at its maximum "urgence attentat" level since the conflict began in late February. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Sunday that authorities had been monitoring the network believed to be behind the attack for several weeks and that additional arrests were expected. He credited "exceptional vigilance" by police for preventing what could have been a deadly explosion in one of the world's most visited urban districts.

Bank of America said in a statement that the safety of its employees and clients was its highest priority and expressed gratitude to French law enforcement for their rapid response. The bank has had a significant presence in Paris for more than a century and its 8th arrondissement office serves as the hub of its European investment banking operations. The incident added to an already tense security environment in France, which has experienced multiple terror attacks over the past decade and has been on alert since French intelligence agencies warned in early March that European financial and diplomatic targets linked to US and Israeli interests had been specifically identified in threat communications attributed to Iranian proxy networks.