A man has pleaded guilty to two explosive offences after petrol bombs were thrown into the grounds of the Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale. No one was injured in the February attack, which damaged a cabin at the site.
Iman Zand, from Edgware, admitted possession of an explosive with intent to injure property at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday 13 November. At an earlier hearing on Wednesday 11 November, he pleaded guilty to causing an explosion likely to endanger life or injure property.
He accepted responsibility for the attack and told the court he had been experiencing mental health difficulties at the time. He is due to be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court at a later date. No sentence has yet been announced.
The attack and investigation
Police were called to the Islamic Centre of England shortly after midnight on 3 February 2026, after a security guard reported that incendiary devices had been thrown into the premises.
Investigators said Zand approached the site, lit one bottle and threw two bottles containing accelerant over the wall before leaving in a car. The fire damaged a cabin in the grounds, but the centre’s main building was not damaged. Police said nobody was hurt.
Detectives examined CCTV footage to trace the suspect’s movements. It showed a man arriving by car, approaching the centre’s gates and throwing the bottles before leaving. Officers also checked automatic number plate recognition cameras, which linked the vehicle to Zand, according to the Metropolitan Police.
He was stopped near his home in Edgware later that day and arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. The bottles were recovered and specialists carried out forensic examinations at the scene. Zand gave no comment in his police interview, was subsequently charged and was remanded in custody.
The offences to which he has pleaded guilty are the two explosives charges heard at Wood Green Crown Court. The earlier arrest was on suspicion of a different offence; it should not be confused with the charges to which he has now admitted guilt.
Police response
The Metropolitan Police treated the attack as a hate crime. In the days afterwards, neighbourhood officers carried out reassurance patrols and spoke with local residents and representatives of the centre.
The centre had previously been the scene of protests by opponents of the Iranian government. Police suspect that Zand, a British national born in Iran, targeted the site because he believed it was linked to that government. They have described that possible motive as a suspicion.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Ridley, who led the investigation, described the attack as premeditated and said it caused concern in the local community and beyond. He thanked officers who responded and members of the Maida Vale community for their assistance during the investigation.
What happens next
The guilty pleas establish the convictions, but the penalty remains a matter for the court. When deciding a sentence, a judge considers the circumstances of the offences, their impact and the relevant law, as well as any mitigation presented in the case.
Sentencing guidance also provides for a reduction to reflect a guilty plea, with the stage at which a plea is indicated among the matters considered. The available reports do not establish what reduction, if any, will apply here. Nor do they establish what weight the court will give to Zand’s account of his mental health.
Police have not given a date for the sentencing hearing. Until the court passes sentence, the form and length of any penalty remain undecided.
