It was supposed to be Tehran’s covert strike on Australia’s Jewish community. Instead, the scheme spiraled into a mix of gangland farce and fiery tragedy, with petty criminals fumbling the job until one blaze finally roared through a kosher deli and another torched a synagogue in Melbourne.

At the center of it all: Sayed Moosawi, president of a Nomads bikie chapter, a career criminal who styled himself online as “James Bond.” Court documents paint him as the alleged go-between, taking orders from Iranian handlers and farming them out to a ragtag crew of crooks paid a few thousand dollars to do Tehran’s dirty work.

The first hit was meant for Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, a kosher landmark in Bondi. But the job was so badly bungled it looked more slapstick than sinister.

Moosawi allegedly recruited two men, Wayne Ogden and Juon Amuoi, to torch the deli in September 2024. Instead, they crept up on the Curly Lewis Brewery, a beachfront bar with no Jewish ties, panicked when spotted, and bolted.

An enraged Moosawi fired off an expletive-laced message: “A [expletive] 16 years kid could of got it done.”

Weeks later, new recruits tried again — and struck the same wrong brewery. Their blaze was doused almost instantly by sprinklers. Moosawi was livid: “Youse [expletive] the whole thing … It’s not even 2% burned [expletive] me dead.”

Finally, in the early hours of October 20, Ogden allegedly stormed into Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, doused it in fuel, and set it ablaze. The inferno caused more than $1 million in damage, forced evacuations, and left Bondi’s Jewish community shaken.

In December, another fire hit Adass Yisroel in Melbourne. CCTV captured three hooded figures lugging red jerrycans, splashing petrol across the entrance, and setting the $20 million shul ablaze — while mispalelim were inside.

Police say 20-year-old Younes Ali Younes stole the getaway car, a blue Volkswagen Golf later linked to other crimes. Charged with arson and reckless endangerment, Younes appeared in court this week. His lawyer declined comment. Another suspect, 21-year-old Giovanni Laulu, was charged last month.

Australia’s spy agency ASIO says Iran bankrolled both attacks, channeling funds through a maze of “cut-outs” — intermediaries meant to mask Tehran’s fingerprints. Investigators tracked payments onshore and offshore before the Iranian connection emerged.

Authorities say more plots may have been in the works.

The investigation has been massive: 220 officers, 50,000 hours of work, and raids that uncovered digital devices, stolen cars, and encrypted messages.

Moosawi, the alleged middleman, is now awaiting trial after posting $2 million bail. Prosecutors say he pocketed $12,000 to orchestrate the Bondi fire. He allegedly farmed out tasks to street-level crooks, berating them when they bungled orders.

The bikie boss — who fled Iran as a refugee in 2005 — allegedly kept directing the arsonists over Signal.

Western intelligence agencies say this is part of a global pattern. Britain has disrupted at least 20 Iran-linked plots since 2022. Sweden has reported similar operations. Now Australia has become the latest front in Tehran’s shadow war.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)