Belgium has maintained its general threat level at “severe” (3 out of 4) but heightened vigilance near Iranian, American, and Israeli interests following an attack by Washington and Tel Aviv on Iran.
In Antwerp, police are particularly focused on the Jewish quarter. Since 2014, the Jewish community has been under increased threat as determined by Belgium’s Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (Ocam), and additional police surveillance has been in place.
Due to recent developments, Antwerp’s mayor Els Van Doesburg stated that local law enforcement will be especially watchful in the coming days.
A “severe” threat level indicates that Ocam assesses the likelihood of a terrorist or extremist attack in Belgium as possible and credible.
According to Ocam’s website, this designation often correlates with concrete threat reports, triggering events such as the Israel-Hamas conflict, or increasingly credible expressions of violent intentions by terrorist organisations or individuals.
For now, the recent attack on Iran has not altered Belgium’s overall threat level.
