* Two more suspects detained in foiled Paris attack

* Suspects linked to improvised explosive device plot

* Interior minister suspects Iranian involvement through

proxies

By Mathieu Rosemain

PARIS, March 29 (Reuters) - French authorities have

arrested two more suspects over a foiled attack on Bank of

America's ( BAC ) Paris offices, the country's anti-terrorism

prosecutor's office said on Sunday.

"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 ( BAC )," the

prosecutor's office said in a statement to Reuters. The custody

of the first suspect arrested on Saturday, a minor, has been

extended, it added.

Under French law, suspects in terrorism cases can be held in

custody for up to 96 hours, with further extensions possible

under judicial oversight.

The anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said on Saturday it

had opened an investigation into attempted destruction by fire

or other dangerous means, as well as the manufacture, possession

and transport of an explosive or incendiary device.

Asked about possible sponsors, Interior Minister Laurent

Nunez pointed to suspicions involving Iran but said no

conclusion had 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 probe has been assigned to the Paris police judicial

unit and France's domestic intelligence agency.

Nunez said police intervened in the early hours of Saturday

morning in Paris' 8th arrondissement after a patrol assigned to

protecting sensitive sites spotted two individuals placing and

attempting to ignite an improvised explosive device outside the

bank.

Officers moved in and arrested one suspect at the scene

while the second fled, Nunez told BFM TV late on Saturday.

"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 said.

He added that the device, though rudimentary, could have

been lethal, and that officers prevented it from being ignited.

Nunez said the individuals appeared to be "common-law"

offenders acting as paid intermediaries, in what he described as

a known modus operandi involving proxies recruited to carry out

such attacks.

He said authorities had identified similarities with

incidents in several European countries, including the

Netherlands, Belgium, Britain and Norway, where improvised

devices targeted sites linked to U.S. interests.