3 charged in U.S. with planning terror attacks, including alleged planned assault on British airbase

Résumé détaillé

U.S. authorities accused three men Tuesday of being Iran-supported operatives who plotted nearly 20 attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the U.S., as well as a planned assault on a British airbase used by the U.S. Air Force.

Three men, including one already jailed in the United States, were accused by U.S. authorities Tuesday of being Iran-supported operatives who plotted nearly 20 attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the U.S. as well as a planned assault on a British airbase used by the U.S. Air Force.

Charges against Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, were outlined in a superseding indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. Only al-Saadi is in custody.

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald in New York said in a news release that al-Saadi, who was arrested in the spring, allegedly continued to co-ordinate with his co-defendants in the days leading up to the attempted September terrorist plot at a British Royal Air Force Base in Fairford, United Kingdom, where U.S. bombers and troops had been stationed.

"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," McDonald said. "The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical — it is very real."

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."

The new indictment offers fresh insight into an episode that has been shrouded in mystery for more than a month after five men were detained after midnight on Sept. 27 on suspected explosives and terrorism offenses after three suspicious vans were spotted travelling toward the base in western England.

A sixth suspect, a British-Iranian dual national, was arrested several days later. All the men were released on bail.

British authorities linked the incident to Tehran, and though Iran denied involvement…

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