Three charged of plotting attacks on RAF base, Jewish communities for Iran

Résumé détaillé

A New York prosecutor says the men orchestrated “a campaign of terror on behalf of organisations affiliated with Iran”, including the September plot to attack a British airbase hosting American warplanes.

New York: Three men have been accused by American authorities of being Iran-supported operatives who plotted an assault on a British airbase used by the US Air Force, as well as a string of attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the United States.

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 an indictment unsealed in Manhattan Federal Court. Saadi is currently in custody in the US.

Lawyer Jamie McDonald in New York said Saadi, who was arrested in the northern hemisphere spring, had continued to co-ordinate with his co-defendants in the days leading up to the attempted September attack on the British Royal Air Force Base in Fairford, where American bombers and troops had been stationed.

“These defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organisations 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.”

The indictment offers fresh insight into an episode shrouded in mystery for more than a month. Five men were detained after midnight on September 27 (British time) on suspected explosives and terrorism offences after three suspicious vans were spotted travelling towards RAF Fairford in western England.

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

British authorities linked the incident to Tehran, and though Iran denied involvement, the arrests prompted Washington to redeploy aircraft stationed there back to the US.

US Attorney-General Todd Blanche said: “Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American service members will be prosecuted by the United States…

Début de l'article, extrait de The Sydney Morning Herald. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.