US accuses three men of 'campaign of terror' against Jewish targets and plot against RAF Fairford

The US has accused three men linked to Iran of masterminding a "campaign of terror" against Jewish targets in the UK and Europe, as well as a thwarted plot at RAF Fairford.

One of the suspects, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al Saadi, an Iranian-Iraqi national, even allegedly helped to coordinate the Fairford scheme from his prison cell in New York having already been detained over the antisemitic assaults, including firebombings.

After being arrested earlier this year, Al Saadi pleaded not guilty to charges he had plotted at least 18 terror attacks across Europe and two more in Canada.

He is alleged to have used "coded messages" in phone calls to family members in Iraq, which were intended for the other two suspects in the days leading up to the security alert at the RAF base in Gloucestershire, which had been housing US bomber aircraft.

The US Department of Justice also revealed details of how the suspects allegedly used FaceTime from a location in Iraq in April to direct harm remotely at Jewish targets in Europe and then used the videos as propaganda.

This included an attack on a synagogue in London, the justice department said.

It said that another of the suspects, Mohammad Ali al Hassani, an Iraqi national, again over FaceTime, instructed an individual on the ground to "light it up like a Christmas tree".

Another video, from early April, allegedly shows al Hassani and the third suspect, Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national, in a room in Iraq with a map of London displayed on a computer screen.

The justice department said al Hassani told Mohajeri "we need to get focused on London".

About a week later, the first of six suspected terrorist attacks occurred in and around the British capital.

"As alleged, these defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organizations affiliated with Iran that targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, and the British military base, RAF Fairford, housing American service members," US Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.

"Even after one of their co-conspirators was arrested and placed in federal custody, the defendants allegedly continued coordinating terrorist activity through coded communications and a network of associates overseas.

"The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical - it is very real. Our Office will not stop working to address and disrupt this threat, and to prosecute those responsible."

Iran has previously denied involvement in any of the attacks or the Fairford plot.

The three men face an eight-count indictment, related to almost 20 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the US. The majority of the incidents happened in the UK.

While al Saadi is already in US detention after being arrested in an undisclosed country overseas, the other two individuals are reportedly in Iran.

The US said all three men were operating in support of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian-backed Iraqi militant group Kataib Hezbollah.

The justice department offered new details about the suspected security plot at RAF Fairford in late September, which prompted the American military to withdraw its bomber aircraft back to the US.

The warplanes had been involved in conducting strikes against Iran as part of Donald Trump's war. The Iranian regime had warned that this made RAF Fairford a legitimate target.

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The justice department set out how al Saadi allegedly maintained contact with his suspected co-conspirators to devise the Fairford plot despite being arrested in May.

It said al Hassani and Mohajeri were both in Iran at the time of the Fairford alert and "allegedly relied on a network of contacts in the United Kingdom".

A new group calling itself Harakat Ashab Al Yamin Al Islamiya (HAYI) claimed responsibility for the attacks against Jewish targets in the UK in April, including in the propaganda videos.

The justice department, however, said HAYI "is a front for Kataib Hizballah" and other foreign terrorist organisations.

It alleged that al Saadi and Mohajeri helped create and publish online propaganda videos of the attacks.

The US said al Saadi, 32, is a citizen of Iraq and Iran. Mohajeri, 48, is a citizen of Iran. Al Hassani, 35, is a citizen of Iraq.

(c) Sky News 2026: US accuses three men of 'campaign of terror' against Jewish targets and plot against RAF Fairford