3 Iran-Backed Operatives Indicted in Nearly 20 Attacks

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Three operatives backed by Iran have been indicted on terrorism charges for their alleged roles in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States, including a September 2026 plot against a British air base housing American forces, federal prosecutors announced.

Read the U.S. Department of Justice release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-iranian-backed-operatives-indicted-their-roles-nearly-20-terrorist-attacks-and

The eight-count superseding indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York on November 10, 2026, according to the release.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, a citizen of Iraq and Iran, is charged in the indictment, officials reported.

Mohsen Mohajeri, 48, a citizen of Iran, and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, 35, a citizen of Iraq, are also charged, according to the release.

Al-Saadi is in federal custody in New York awaiting trial, officials reported. The release does not state that Mohajeri or al-Hassani is in custody.

A Front Group, Eighteen European Attacks, And A London Stabbing

According to the indictment, the defendants acted in support of Kata'ib Hizballah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, both designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations.

Attacks in Europe were carried out in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, which prosecutors described as a front for Kata'ib Hizballah and other designated groups, according to the release.

The group claimed responsibility for 18 terrorist attacks in Europe in the spring of 2026, officials reported.

Seven of those attacks were in the United Kingdom, the most of any European country, according to the release.

The attacks involved arsons and explosives, and in one instance a near-fatal stabbing in London of two Jewish men, including a dual U.S.-British citizen, officials reported.

According to the indictment, al-Saadi also attempted attacks in the United States in March and April 2026, including targeting a synagogue in Manhattan.

Recorded Calls, A Synagogue Attack, And Direction In Real Time

On or about April 6, 2026, Mohajeri and al-Hassani allegedly planned attacks together in a room in Iraq with a map of London on a computer screen, according to the release.

In video of that meeting, al-Hassani told Mohajeri the pair needed to focus on London, officials reported.

On or about April 17, all three defendants allegedly directed an attack in real time over a video call, with al-Saadi recording it, according to the indictment.

On or about April 18, al-Hassani allegedly directed an attack on a London synagogue on another video call, and the person on the call lit an improvised explosive device and threw it at a building, officials reported.

Al-Saadi was arrested abroad on or about May 1, 2026, and transferred to United States custody, according to the release.

For about four months after that arrest, there were no additional attacks attributable to the three men, officials reported.

Fuel Vans, Coded Jail Calls, And The RAF Fairford Plot

In August 2026, al-Hassani allegedly paid associates in the United Kingdom for preparatory steps toward an attack on RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base in Fairford, England, where American forces were stationed, according to the indictment.

On August 22, al-Hassani allegedly paid one individual to conduct surveillance of the base perimeter and received videos of the surrounding area, officials reported.

In September, individuals working at his direction allegedly sought vans and barrels of fuel, researched chemical accelerants including large quantities of potassium chloride, bought metallic objects usable as shrapnel, and commissioned decals making vans look like a fuel delivery business and a swimming pool supply business, according to the release.

On September 26, three vans were allegedly driven toward RAF Fairford and at least two were blocked at a security roadblock, officials reported.

In the early morning of September 27, British authorities recovered three white vans carrying fuel-delivery logos and arrested their occupants, according to the release.

While held in New York, al-Saadi allegedly passed coded messages through phone calls with family in Iraq in the days before the plot, officials reported.

On or about September 24, al-Saadi allegedly instructed family members to give al-Hassani money for the operation, three days before the plot, according to the indictment.

Eight Counts, Life Exposure, And Official Reaction

All three defendants are charged with conspiring to provide material support to Kata'ib Hizballah, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, and conspiring to provide material support to the IRGC, which also carries a maximum of 20 years, officials reported.

All three are also charged with conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism, carrying a maximum of 15 years; providing material support for acts of terrorism, carrying a maximum of 15 years; conspiring to bomb a place of public use, carrying a maximum of life in prison; and financing terrorism, carrying a maximum of 20 years, according to the release.

Al-Saadi alone is additionally charged with attempted acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, carrying a maximum of life in prison, and attempted destruction of property by fire or explosive, carrying a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years, officials reported.

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, according to the release.

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York said the defendants allegedly helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organizations affiliated with Iran, according to the release.

The case was investigated by the FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force and the FBI Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division, with assistance from the Justice Department's National Security Division, the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the NYPD, the New York State Police, and the Department of State, officials reported.

What happens next is proceedings in federal court in New York. A superseding indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, according to the release.

Anyone with information about planned terrorist activity is asked to contact the FBI or local law enforcement.

Sources

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Three Iranian-Backed Operatives Indicted for Their Roles in Nearly 20 Terrorist Attacks and Attempted Attacks Across Europe and the United States," November 10, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-iranian-backed-operatives-indicted-their-roles-nearly-20-terrorist-attacks-and