Three men face U.S. charges over alleged Iran-linked attack plots

Indictment alleges coordination from jail before September plot at RAF Fairford

The superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court names Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani. Al-Saadi is a dual Iranian-Iraqi national, Mohajeri is an Iranian national and al-Hassani is an Iraqi national. Only al-Saadi is in U.S. custody; he was arrested in the spring and has been held without bail since June.

The indictment alleges the three men conspired to use a network of contacts in the United Kingdom to commit attacks on behalf of an Iran-aligned network that included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hizballah. Prosecutors say the campaign involved nearly 20 planned attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, along with a planned assault on RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom, where U.S. Air Force bombers and troops were stationed.

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald in New York said al-Saadi continued to coordinate with his co-defendants in the days leading up to the attempted September terrorist plot at RAF Fairford. McDonald said, “These defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organizations affiliated with Iran that targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, and the British military base, RAF Fairford, housing American service members,” and added, “The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical — it is very real.”

According to the indictment, al-Saadi used coded language in communications with relatives from jail to direct that money be passed along to others who could carry out attacks. The document alleged that the three defendants used contacts in the United Kingdom to commit attacks for the Iran-aligned network.

Prosecutors say al-Saadi was a Kata’ib Hizballah commander. Both Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been designated by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American servicemembers will be prosecuted by the United States government.”

In June, al-Saadi pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted at least 18 attacks in Europe in retaliation for the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran. He called himself a “prisoner of war.” He has been held without bail since, and his lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The September incident had remained shrouded in mystery for more than a month before the superseding indictment. Five men were detained after midnight Sept. 27 on suspected explosives and terrorism offenses after three suspicious vans were spotted traveling toward the base in western England. A sixth suspect, a British-Iranian dual national, was arrested several days later, and all six were released on bail.

RAF Fairford, located 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of London, has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East.

British authorities linked the incident to Tehran, and Iran denied involvement. The arrests prompted the United States to withdraw its bombers from RAF Fairford; the bombers were redeployed to their home bases in the United States.