Federal prosecutors unsealed a superseding indictment Tuesday charging three men with terrorism‑related offenses tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Kata’ib Hizballah militia. The indictment alleges the suspects plotted to attack RAF Fairford in England, a base that hosts U.S. military aircraft and personnel.
Details of the alleged scheme
According to the indictment, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al‑Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali Al‑Hassani coordinated a plan to use three vans loaded with barrels of fuel as improvised explosive devices. The suspects allegedly researched chemical accelerants, purchased metal objects that could serve as shrapnel, and disguised the vans with commercial decals to make them appear as fuel‑delivery or swimming‑pool‑supply vehicles.
Al‑Hassani is accused of directing associates in the United Kingdom to conduct surveillance of the base in August, paying an individual to record video of the perimeter. On September 26, he allegedly ordered the vans to be driven toward the airfield. Two of the vehicles encountered a security roadblock and were stopped; British authorities recovered all three vans and arrested the occupants the following morning.
Links to Iran and ongoing investigations
Prosecutors say Al‑Saadi helped coordinate the operation while incarcerated in New York awaiting trial on separate terrorism charges. He allegedly used telephone calls with family members in Iraq to relay coded messages to co‑conspirators, including a September 24 call in which he asked for money to be sent to Al‑Hassani.
The indictment notes that the three defendants are also linked to a series of attacks across Europe earlier this year. Those attacks, which targeted synagogues, Jewish organizations, ambulances and an Israeli embassy, included the stabbing of two Jewish men in London. Al‑Saadi was previously arrested abroad in May, transferred to U.S. custody, and accused of directing roughly 18 attacks in Europe and attempting to coordinate an assault on a Manhattan synagogue.
Government response
Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a news release, “Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American service members will be prosecuted by the United States government.” The charges carry maximum penalties of life imprisonment, including conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, financing terrorism and conspiracy to bomb a place of public use.
The successful disruption of the plot underscores the ongoing threat posed by Iran‑aligned extremist networks and highlights the cooperation between U.S. and British law‑enforcement agencies in protecting service members abroad.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
