Three alleged Iranian-backed operatives have been indicted in the United States over nearly 20 terrorist attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States, including a foiled September plot at RAF Fairford in England, the US Department of Justice has said.

An eight-count superseding indictment was unsealed on Tuesday in the Southern District of New York charging Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national. The three are accused of terrorism-related offences in support of Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organisations.

Plot “coordinated from a prison cell”

According to the indictment, al-Hassani orchestrated the September 2026 plot at RAF Fairford, the British Royal Air Force base in Gloucestershire where American military aircraft and personnel were stationed. Al-Saadi, who was imprisoned in New York awaiting trial on earlier terrorism charges, allegedly tried to coordinate with al-Hassani and Mohajeri from jail by passing coded messages through third parties, including in phone calls with relatives in Iraq.

The US Justice Department alleges that al-Saadi directed and paid associates in the United Kingdom to carry out preparatory steps and arrange logistics for the Fairford plot in August. British police arrested seven men after explosives were found in a van in Whelford, near RAF Fairford, on 27 September, and later released them on bail. Two men were subsequently charged in the UK.

US Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American servicemembers will be prosecuted by the United States government.” FBI Director Kash Patel said the indictment showed Iran’s determination to commit terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States, including one plot “recently prevented at RAF Fairford”.

Nearly 20 attacks alleged

Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey in May and transferred to the United States. He was charged then over his alleged involvement in planning about 18 terrorist attacks in Europe and attempting to bomb a synagogue in New York. He has pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges. The new indictment alleges the three men conspired to commit attacks in Europe and the United States on behalf of an Iran-aligned network, carrying out attacks in the name of a purported group using the pseudonym Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-. It was not clear on Tuesday whether Mohajeri and al-Hassani, both said to have been in Iran at the time of the Fairford plot, were in custody. The allegations have not yet been tested in court. Sources: US Department of Justice and New York Post.