US prosecutors have charged three Iran-backed suspects, including Iranian national Mohsen Mohajeri, with directing attacks on Jewish sites and a September plot against RAF Fairford, a UK base that houses US bombers. According to Euronews, an eight-count indictment was announced in Manhattan on Tuesday.
The indictment names Mohajeri, 48, whom prosecutors describe as an IRGC operative, and Mohammed Ali al-Hassani, 35, an Iraqi citizen. A third defendant, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, holds Iraqi and Iranian citizenship and was charged in May, according to Euronews. Al-Saadi has been held in New York since then. NBC News described him as the only one of the three in custody.
Prosecutors allege that al-Hassani paid people to buy vans, fuel barrels and metal objects that could be used as shrapnel. The vans were reportedly fitted with decals resembling a fuel company and a pool supplies business, Euronews reported. Prosecutors also allege that al-Hassani directed three vans toward RAF Fairford on 26 September, and that at least two were stopped at a security roadblock near the perimeter.
Prosecutors further allege that al-Saadi used jail calls with his mother and sister in Iraq to pass messages about "work," their code word for terrorist activity, according to Euronews.
All three men are charged with conspiring to provide material support to Kataeb Hezbollah and the IRGC, and with financing terrorism, among other counts. Each faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, Euronews reported.
The attacks were claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), which prosecutors say was a front for Kataeb Hezbollah. Britain banned support for HAYI in July.
In the UK, two British men were charged last month with national security offences over the Fairford incident. One is alleged to have assisted a foreign intelligence service thought to be Iran’s. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the Fairford activity was likely coordinated from Iran. Tehran has denied any involvement and warned that such claims would "fuel Iranophobia propaganda."
The key allegations rely largely on Euronews, and the sources reviewed do not include a response from the defendants or their lawyers. Mohajeri and al-Hassani are not in custody, and prosecutors have not said where they are now. A Wall Street Journal report that a move of aircraft from RAF Mildenhall followed an Iranian threat is reported secondhand by Euronews and has not been independently confirmed. NPR World’s account was limited to a headline and short excerpt.
The sources do not give court dates or a trial timetable. Al-Saadi remains held in New York, and the two UK men face national security charges over the Fairford incident.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.