An Iranian-Iraqi national accused of helping coordinate a plot targeting a British air force base used by U.S. military personnel allegedly relayed instructions to his co-conspirators through coded phone calls with family members in Iraq while being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn, New York, according to officials.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, is one of 3 men charged in an 8-count superseding indictment over their alleged roles in nearly 20 terrorist attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Prosecutors say the men worked with Iran-backed terrorist organizations, including Kata’ib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both designated foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S.
The plot targeted RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base in Gloucestershire, England, where U.S. military forces are stationed. According to prosecutors, Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, 35, an Iraqi national, organized the operation in September 2026 by arranging surveillance of the base and recruiting associates to obtain vans, fuel barrels and other materials.
British authorities recovered 3 vans near the base on Sept. 27 and arrested their occupants after the vehicles encountered security checkpoints. Prosecutors allege the vans were intended for use in a vehicle-borne bombing attack.
Al-Saadi allegedly helped coordinate the operation while being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn, New York, where he was awaiting trial on earlier terrorism charges. Prosecutors say he used coded phone conversations with family members in Iraq to pass instructions to his alleged co-conspirators and arrange money transfers.
The indictment also connects the 3 men to attacks claimed by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), which prosecutors describe as a front for Kata’ib Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations.
The attacks included arson, explosives and a stabbing targeting Jewish communities in Europe. Seven of the 18 attacks claimed by the group in spring 2026 took place in the United Kingdom.
Al-Saadi was also previously accused of attempting to arrange attacks in the United States, including a plot targeting a synagogue in Manhattan.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the defendants were allegedly involved in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department would pursue those accused of plotting attacks against military facilities housing American personnel.
The investigation involved the FBI, New York Police Department (NYPD), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other law enforcement agencies, with assistance from British authorities.
The defendants face multiple federal terrorism-related charges, including providing material support to terrorist organizations and conspiring to carry out attacks. Some of the charges carry potential life sentences if convicted.