Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed an indictment Tuesday charging three men in connection with an alleged Iran-backed terror network, including a plot to attack a British air base that hosts American bombers. The charges reveal that a jailed suspect used coded phone calls from his Brooklyn detention cell to coordinate the operation.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national, is accused of relaying instructions through his family to accomplices in the UK, urging them to carry out an assault on RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base in western England. He was already in custody in the US on separate terrorism charges when the alleged plot was hatched.
The indictment, which also names Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national, and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, alleges the trio orchestrated nearly 20 attacks targeting Jewish communities in Europe and the US, as well as the military base. Neither Mohajeri nor al-Hassani is in US custody.
Officials call the plot a 'campaign of terror'
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the 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.” He added: “The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical — it is very real.”
Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American service members will be prosecuted by the United States government.”
The charges come after a dramatic incident on September 27, when seven men were detained in the UK after three suspicious vans were spotted heading toward RAF Fairford. They were later released on bail, but two were re-arrested under the UK’s National Security Act on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence services. British authorities linked the incident to Tehran, which denied involvement, and the US subsequently withdrew its bombers from the base, redeploying them to the US.
From jail, a suspect passed coded messages
According to the indictment, al-Saadi used phone and video calls with his mother and sister to relay messages to his co-conspirators. In a July 30 call, he asked his sister: “What are they doing about all our old work?” — using the term “work” to describe terrorist operations. She replied that “it isn’t canceled.” On a September 24 call, he instructed his family to “give him money so we can do it,” referring to al-Hassani, who had been transferred to the “International Section.”
The FBI monitored and recorded all of al-Saadi’s calls, but he still managed to convey instructions. In one instance, the indictment alleges the trio directed an arson attack on a Jewish charity in London, watching the live video feed on a laptop screen. The next day, they allegedly ordered an attack on a London synagogue, with al-Hassani telling the operative to “light it up like a Christmas tree.”
Al-Saadi’s lawyer had complained in September that his calls were being cut off without explanation. The government later restricted him to a single hour-long call per month, citing his use of coded language. Al-Saadi, who has pleaded not guilty to earlier charges of plotting at least 18 attacks in Europe, has called himself a “prisoner of war.” His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case highlights the ongoing threat from Iran-backed groups, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hizballah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the US. Prosecutors say al-Saadi was a commander in Kata’ib Hizballah.
RAF Fairford, located about 100 miles west of London, has been a staging point for American bombers in Middle East conflicts for decades. The UK has also charged two Britons in a related case, reflecting the international scope of the alleged plot.
