Federal prosecutors in New York have charged three men with terrorism offenses over what they describe as an Iran-backed campaign of nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the United States. The indictment was unsealed Tuesday and names Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, Mohsen Mohajeri, 48, and Mohammed Ali Al-Hassani, 35.
Prosecutors say the men acted for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iraqi militia Kata’ib Hezbollah. Both groups are designated foreign terrorist organizations by the United States. The targets included Jewish communities, synagogues in London and New York, and a British air base where American forces are stationed.
According to the court filings, the suspects directed some attacks from thousands of miles away. In April, prosecutors allege, the men watched a London attack unfold on a FaceTime call while Al-Hassani coached the attacker on lighting and throwing incendiary devices. The next day, he allegedly guided another man on a video call as he threw an explosive at a London synagogue.
The indictment says Al-Hassani, who was operating from Iran, paid associates in Britain beginning in August to film the perimeter of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. On September 26, three vans fitted with fake fuel and pool supply branding headed toward the base. Authorities stopped at least two at a roadblock and seized all three the next morning. The U.S. moved several long-range bombers from the base shortly afterward.
Al-Saadi was detained abroad in May and brought to the United States. Prosecutors say he kept directing the network from jail through coded phone calls with relatives in Iraq. British authorities previously charged two men in the Fairford case.
In a separate matter, British counter-terrorism police arrested a 41-year-old member of the U.S. Army on suspicion of offenses under Britain’s National Security Act 2023. Police said the allegations concern Russia. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. moved aircraft from RAF Mildenhall on Monday because of an Iranian threat, though NPR did not confirm that report, and neither government has confirmed the reason.
