A man imprisoned in New York is accused of relaying messages to Iranian operatives who were planning an assault on a British airbase utilized by the U.S. Air Force, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday. The charges offer new details about an operation that became public on September 27 when several men were apprehended on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offenses near the base housing U.S. bombers.
The Chenab Times has learned that the new indictment names Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, as a participant in the plot to attack the Royal Air Force Base in Fairford, western England, despite his arrest last spring.
Prosecutors allege that al-Saadi employed coded language during phone and video calls with his mother and sister in Iraq to convey messages encouraging associates to proceed with the airbase bombing. Two other individuals, Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national, and Mohammad al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, have also been charged in the case, which implicates Iran-backed operatives in the planning of nearly 20 terror attacks targeting Jewish communities in Europe and the United States.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald stated, “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. 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 added that the United States government will prosecute anyone planning a terrorist plot on a military base accommodating American service members.
Six men initially detained in the United Kingdom in connection with the incident at RAF Fairford were released on bail. However, two were later rearrested on suspicion of aiding Iran’s intelligence service and subsequently charged under the National Security Act, according to British authorities. British officials linked the incident to Tehran, prompting the U.S. to relocate its bombers stationed there to the United States, despite Iran’s denial of involvement.
U.S. prosecutors detailed in the indictment that while communicating from the Brooklyn jail, al-Saadi informed his family of debts owed to Mohajeri and instructed them to pass messages about “work,” a term he allegedly used to refer to terrorist activities. In one instance, al-Saadi asked his sister about the status of “all our old work,” inquiring whether it had been cancelled or postponed, to which she replied that “it isn’t cancelled.” Later calls reportedly involved al-Saadi instructing his family to “give him money so we can do it” in reference to al-Hassani, who was purportedly transferred to the “International Section.”
Al-Saadi, who has been held in solitary confinement since his May arrest, was described by the Justice Department as dangerous due to his expressed desire to attack U.S. and Israeli interests. He had pleaded not guilty in June to charges of plotting at least 18 attacks in Europe as retaliation for the conflict involving Iran, identifying himself as a “prisoner of war.”
The indictment further alleged that the three men collaborated to utilize a network of contacts in the United Kingdom to execute terror attacks for an Iran-aligned militant network, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hizballah. Specific instances cited include directing an arson attack on a Jewish charity organization in London and a subsequent attack on a synagogue, with al-Hassani reportedly instructing an individual to “light it up like a Christmas tree.” Both Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government, with prosecutors identifying al-Saadi as a commander within Kata’ib Hizballah.
The new charges surface amidst a legal dispute over al-Saadi’s access to communication. Although permitted phone and video calls with his family, these were monitored by the FBI. Al-Saadi’s legal team had previously raised concerns about call interruptions, which the government attributed to fears of coded language. Prosecutors later imposed limits on his monthly calls. Despite these restrictions, from June to September, al-Saadi reportedly participated in nine calls from jail. In one call, his mother cautioned him against discussing certain topics to prevent termination, a warning that was followed by the FBI ending the call.
The Chenab Times News Desk
