New Delhi, March 31 -- French authorities are investigating a suspected link to Iran after thwarting a bomb attack outside a Bank of America building in Paris, the interior minister said Monday. Five people are in custody.

Authorities suspect a link due to similarities with other recent attempted attacks in Europe for which a pro-Iran group claimed responsibility, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.

On Saturday morning, Paris police officers spotted two suspects carrying a shopping bag near the Bank of America office in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital. The national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office is looking into alleged terrorism-related offenses.

The "modus operandi is in every respect similar to actions that ha...