Four men charged in Haifa District Court with making explosives at behest of Iranian agent

Four men are accused in the Haifa District Court of creating explosive material intended for terror bombings on the orders of an Iranian agent, marking one of the most severe Iran-linked security cases uncovered so far by authorities.

Only the central suspect, 22-year-old Ami Gaydarov, is alleged to have been in direct contact with the agent. The Haifa resident was arrested in March on suspicion of producing at least 10 kilograms (22 lbs) of TATP, an easy-to-make powder often used in terror bombings.

Prosecutors in the State Attorney’s Office write that the young man even volunteered to build an improvised explosive device (IED) with the powder and carry out a suicide bombing, but his handler rejected the suggestion.

The three other men are charged in a separate indictment with assisting in the purchase, production and testing of the volatile material.

According to the indictment, Gaydarov agreed to create the explosive material while aware that it “was intended for use against a public figure, whose identity is unknown, and for the purpose of an explosion at a bus stop or another place where people were liable to be hurt.”

Hebrew media reported last week that the public figure in question is former prime minister Naftali Bennett, but an official in the State Attorney’s Office was not able to confirm, saying this did “not emerge in the investigation material.”

Though the TATP was never used, Gaydarov buried approximately 2 kilograms of the powder in a hole which he then covered up, and sent the location of the material to his handler, presumably for later use by another Iranian agent.

On top of manufacturing explosives, Gaydarov is also accused of passing information to his handler that served Iran’s war aims. He allegedly took photos of the Haifa Port and naval base in an effort to locate the American aircraft carrier that docked there, and sent live updates to his handler about missile impacts in his area.

According to police, Gaydarov received a total of NIS 70,000 ($23,000) in exchange for the tasks he carried out, most of it in the form of cryptocurrency.