Thailand charged two Iranian suspects today with an alleged bomb plot against Israeli diplomats, officials said, as pressure mounts on Tehran over accusations of a terror campaign against Israel, according to Agence France-Presse.
One of the accused, 28-year-old Saeid Morati, had his legs blown off as he threw an explosive device at Thai police while fleeing an earlier blast at a house in Bangkok.
A second Iranian suspect was detained trying to board a flight out of the country. A third suspect is believed to have fled to Malaysia, they said.
“These three Iranian men are an assassination team and their targets were Israeli diplomats including the ambassador,” a senior Thai intelligence official told AFP. “Their plan was to attach bombs to diplomats’ cars.”
Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul told reporters that the two suspects were charged with causing an illegal explosion and attempting to kill police officers and members of the public.
“We cannot say yet if it’s a terrorist act,” he said, “but it’s similar to the assassination attempt against a diplomat in India.”
Israel’s ambassador to Thailand confirmed Wednesday that the homemade bombs discovered in a Bangkok house after a series of blasts in the city resembled the devices used against Israeli Embassy targets in India and Georgia, buttressing Israel’s claims that the incidents are part of a covert terror campaign by Iran.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called the allegations against it “baseless,” saying Israel was trying to damage its relations with Thailand.