A rabbi and his son have been stabbed outside a synagogue in Paris after leaving morning prayers, sources in France have reported.

Shimon Samuels at the Simon Weisenthal Centre in Paris said: “At 7am this morning, an Iranian screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ attacked a rabbi and his son with a cutter outside his synagogue in the 9th district of Paris.”

The rabbi is believed to be in his 50s; his son is 18.

Mr Samuels continued: “After a chase into the synagogue and then back into the street, the assailant was reportedly apprehended by passers - by and the police.”

“The rabbi suffered cuts to his throat, his son was stabbed in the back. They were immediately hospitalised and are now out of danger.”

According to Le Monde newspaper, the attacker, who is thought to have been born in Tehran, is believed to have escaped from a French psychiatric institution.

The Simon Weisenthal Centre has asked police to investigate the crime as a pre-meditated, antisemitic hate crime.