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US charges three alleged Iran-backed operatives over plot against UK air base

Prosecutors allege one defendant, jailed in New York, used coded family calls to try to coordinate the September plot at RAF Fairford.

The gate at RAF Fairford in 2012
The gate at RAF Fairford in 2012. Photo: Vieve Forward, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
25 news outlets reported this
Liberal9 outletsJailed operative's coded calls and the foiled plotCenter7 outletsProsecutors' allegations alongside the judge and UK chargesConservative9 outletsIran's reach and a plot coordinated from prison
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 2 min read
Overview

U.S. authorities charged three men with terrorism offenses on Tuesday. An eight-count superseding indictment, unsealed in Manhattan federal court, names Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, who holds dual Iranian and Iraqi nationality, along with Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani. Prosecutors say the three are Iran-backed operatives tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata'ib Hizballah.

They allege the men planned nearly 20 assaults on Jewish communities across Europe and the United States, plus a strike on RAF Fairford, a British air station in western England where U.S. bombers and troops were stationed. Only al-Saadi, arrested in the spring and jailed in New York, is in custody. Prosecutors allege he used coded language in calls to relatives to pass messages and money to the others.

Five men were detained on Sept. 27 after three vans were seen heading toward the base. The indictment alleges at least two of the vans met security checkpoints. British authorities linked the incident to Tehran, Iran denied involvement, and the U.S. withdrew its bombers from the base.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the government will prosecute anyone who plans a terrorist attack on a military base where American service members are housed. In June, al-Saadi pleaded not guilty to earlier charges of plotting at least 18 attacks in Europe and called himself a "prisoner of war."

Key figures
  • nearly 20 attacksattacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the US that prosecutors allege the three men plottedThe Independent
  • eight-countsuperseding indictment unsealed in ManhattanCBS News
  • at least 18 attacksin Europe, charged earlier against al-Saadi, who pleaded not guilty in JuneThe Independent

Three sides of the story

9Liberal7Center9Conservative

25 news outlets reported this

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal9 outlets

Jailed operative's coded calls and the foiled plot

The Boston Globe opens with the indictment's allegation that a man jailed in New York passed coded messages to Iranian operatives. It adds a section on the court fight over al-Saadi's phone access, including the FBI's monitoring of his calls and a limit of a single hourlong call each month. The Guardian (US) says prosecutors blame him for the foiled attack and that he was said to have planned it as retribution for the US war in Iran.

It recalls a July IRGC statement calling US bases used in attacks on Iran, Fairford among them, legitimate targets. CBS News lays out the alleged plan: vans with fuel delivery decals, barrels of fuel and metal for shrapnel. It cites two sources saying Mohajeri and al-Hassani are not in custody.

The Independent (US) runs the AP wire report. Several outlets quote McDonald's line that the Iran threat "is very real."

Center7 outlets

Prosecutors' allegations alongside the judge and UK charges

Deutsche Welle organizes its report around a question, "What do US prosecutors allege?", and quotes McDonald's phrase "campaign of terror." It notes that al-Saadi called himself a "prisoner of war" and that UK prosecutors separately charged two 24-year-old men under the National Security Act in October. Courthouse News leads with the claim that an accused commander of an Iranian proxy group plotted from solitary confinement in Brooklyn.

It reports that Judge Colleen McMahon, ruling on the government's coded-language argument, called it "vague" and said "The court needs to hear more." It also reports that al-Saadi's lawyers called that argument "speculation and unsupported inference," and that a Nov. 19 conference will discuss whether he represents himself. The Seattle Times carries the AP wire report, with Blanche's and McDonald's quotes and the Sept. 27 detentions.

Conservative9 outlets

Iran's reach and a plot coordinated from prison

Fox News leads with the operational detail: vans packed with fuel, disguised as fuel delivery and pool supply businesses, and a Sept. 26 drive toward the base on which at least two vans met a security roadblock. The Center Square headlines "Three Iranian men indicted" and adds the group HAYI, which the Justice Department calls a front for Kata'ib Hizballah. It also describes photos in the indictment, including al-Saadi in front of machine guns, and says the FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force led the investigation.

RedState says the Fairford attempt "may have been coordinated" by an Iranian operative from his prison cell, and asks "Nobody thought that might be a bad idea?" about his phone access. It links the case to reports of another plot against RAF Mildenhall. CBN News runs the AP wire report.

Where outlets disagree
Official statements
All sources: 28 articles from 25 outlets

Liberal (11)

Center (7)

Conservative (10)