Pro-Iran operative plotted attack on US airbase in Britain from NY prison

An Iran-aligned operative helped orchestrate a plot to attack RAF Fairford, a joint U.S.-UK airbase in England, from a New York jail cell, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Tuesday.

The operative, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a commander in the pro-Iranian Kataib Hezbollah militia who is imprisoned in New York, allegedly helped direct the plot using coded phone calls with family members. The attempted attack on the British airbase was detailed in an indictment released by the Justice Department.

According to the indictment, three men were charged with involvement in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States, including the September 2026 plot against RAF Fairford base.

Al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national, allegedly used coded phone calls with family members in Iraq to relay instructions to Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national and alleged Iranian military operative, and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national and former British citizen. According to the indictment, he referred to terrorist attacks as “work” and discussed whether previous operations had been cancelled or postponed. Three days before the planned Fairford attack, he also asked his family to provide al-Hassani with money to carry it out.

Three days later, al-Hassani attempted to attack the airbase, which led to the arrest of five men involved in the plot.

The indictment alleges that al-Hassani directed the plot from Iran through UK-based contacts, funding surveillance of the base and arranging vehicles, fuel and potential shrapnel before coordinating the attempted attack on Sept. 26. British authorities believe the plot likely involved Iran.

According to the Justice Department, the three men were also linked to attacks against Jewish communities in Europe and the U.S. over the past year. Many of these attacks were carried out in the name of a purported terrorist organization called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyyah (HAYI).

The indictment alleges that HAYI served as a front for cells operating on behalf of Kataib Hezbollah and other Iran-backed militias..

“Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American service members will be prosecuted by the United States government,” U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said.