Three more Iranians held over Thailand bomb plot

The skidding story of the Bangkok bomb plot took another twist yesterday when police revealed they were questioning another Iranian whom they believe could be involved.

Police spokesman Maj Gen Piya Uthayo told reporters that two men and one female were found on Sunday during an operation to search a block of flats in Bangkok. Two of the Iranians – a couple – were subsequently eliminated from inquiries.

Police identified the man still being questioned as 33-year-old Madani Seyed Mehrded and said he had been in contact with several detained suspects, including the Iranian man who blew his legs off by mistake as he fled from police on 14 February.

Police said he had not been charged and were only being quizzed by officers. He was detained under immigration law for overstaying his visa, according to Reuters.

The Iranian who lost his legs when a device exploded, Saeid Moradi, remains seriously ill in hospital. A second Iranian, Mohammad Khazaei, is in custody after being arrested at Bangkok’s main airport and a third, Masoud Sedaghat Zadeh, is being held in Malaysia. Another Iranian woman, identified as Leila Rohani, and said to be linked to the men, is said to have left Thailand and may have returned to Iran.

The police have said they believe that Israeli diplomats were the intended target of the botched plot. Iran, however, has insisted it is not involved in any such plot.

According to the Thai media, police have discovered call logs showing Mr Mehrded regularly communicating with two of the other suspects. They said Mr Mehrded had been waiting in front of the building housing the Israeli embassy on the day of the blasts.

Mr Mehrded has denied any connection with the bomb incident.

While Thai officials have given conflicting views on whether the Iranians were planning to attack Israeli diplomats, they have said the Bangkok bombs resembled one used in an attack on an Israeli diplomat's wife in Delhi on February 13.