US Indicts Three Iran-Linked Men Over Alleged Plot To Attack American Aircraft At UK Air Base

(MENAFN- Khaama Press) US federal prosecutors have charged three men accused of working with Iran-linked militant networks in an alleged plot to attack American military aircraft at a British air base, according to a newly unsealed indictment.

The US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday, November 10, that Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, face terrorism-related charges over their alleged involvement in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States.

The eight-count superseding indictment, filed in the Southern District of New York, alleges that the three men supported Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kata'ib Hezbollah. Their latest alleged operation targeted RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, where US military personnel and aircraft, including B-1 bombers, had been stationed.

According to prosecutors, al-Hassani coordinated the operation in September 2026 with assistance from contacts in Britain, while Mohajeri and al-Hassani were allegedly operating from Iran. The indictment says associates were instructed to conduct surveillance of the base and arrange vehicles and other materials for the planned attack.

On September 26, individuals allegedly directed by al-Hassani drove three white vans, some carrying barrels of fuel, towards the air base. At least two vehicles encountered a security checkpoint and were unable to continue along their intended routes. British authorities subsequently recovered the vans and arrested their occupants.

One of the most significant allegations concerns al-Saadi, who was already being held in a federal prison in New York while awaiting trial on earlier terrorism charges. Prosecutors allege that he continued coordinating the operation through coded messages passed to his associates using telephone calls with his mother and sister in Iraq.

In one conversation, al-Saadi allegedly asked whether their previous operations had been cancelled or merely suspended. His sister reportedly replied that they had not been cancelled. In another call on September 24, prosecutors say he instructed relatives to provide money to al-Hassani to help carry out the operation, three days before British authorities intervened.

The indictment also links the defendants to a wider campaign of attacks against Jewish communities and Israeli-linked targets in Europe and the United States. Previous allegations against al-Saadi include involvement in arson attacks in Britain, attacks targeting Jewish institutions and an attempted bombing of a synagogue in New York.

The US Justice Department said the defendants allegedly acted on behalf of an Iran-aligned network involving the IRGC and Kata'ib Hezbollah. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The indictment comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran and renewed security concerns surrounding Iranian-linked networks and American military facilities in Europe.

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