US charges three men over alleged plot against Britain’s RAF Fairford base
Prosecutors say one defendant tried to coordinate the alleged attack from a New York jail. His defense disputes that interpretation.
Federal prosecutors in New York charged three men over their alleged involvement in a network of attacks linked to Iran, including an alleged September plot against RAF Fairford, a British air base where US troops and aircraft were stationed. One defendant was in US custody when prosecutors say he tried to coordinate with associates through messages sent from jail.
The expanded indictment, made public on November 10, names Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian; and Mohammed Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi. The Justice Department says they acted in support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kataib Hizballah, organizations Washington designates as terrorist groups.
The charges are allegations, not findings of guilt. Al-Saadi pleaded not guilty in June to earlier charges. His lawyers challenged the government’s interpretation of his family conversations in October, Reuters reported. Iran has denied involvement in the alleged Fairford plot.
The Fairford allegations
According to the indictment, Al-Hassani organized the alleged September operation against the base with support from contacts in the United Kingdom, while he and Mohajeri were in Iran. Prosecutors say Al-Saadi, held in New York awaiting trial in a related case, tried to coordinate with both through intermediaries.
Prosecutors say he used telephone and video calls with relatives in Iraq to pass messages they interpret as coded instructions. The FBI monitored and recorded the exchanges, according to court documents cited by the Associated Press.
Al-Saadi’s defense has challenged that interpretation. In an October 14 filing, his lawyers said the coded-message theory was speculative, depended on questionable translations from Arabic and that the conversations could have ordinary explanations, Reuters reported.
RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire west of London, is a British installation used by US bombers. The presence of US personnel and aircraft is among the elements cited in the federal indictment.
The British investigation
The case renewed attention to the events of September 27, when police detained several men after three vans were seen near the base. British authorities investigated possible explosives and terrorism offenses.
The Associated Press reported that seven men detained in Britain in connection with the incident were released on bail and two were later arrested and charged with allegedly assisting Iranian intelligence. The US case is separate from the British proceedings.
After the incident, the US Air Force withdrew the bombers it had at Fairford. British authorities linked the incident to Tehran; Iran rejected that attribution. The US allegations must be examined in court.
A wider case in New York
The new indictment contains eight counts and expands the case brought against Al-Saadi in May. The Justice Department says the network was connected to about 20 attacks and attempts in Europe and the United States, including incidents targeting Jewish communities and an alleged plot against a Manhattan synagogue.
Prosecutors also allege connections to an organization that claimed attacks in Europe in the spring. Their account of the network’s structure and each man’s involvement forms part of what they must prove in court.
Mohajeri and Al-Hassani are not in US custody, according to the Associated Press. Al-Saadi remains held without bail. Reuters reported that one of his lawyers declined to comment on the latest indictment.
Al-Saadi’s earlier not-guilty plea relates to the previous charges; the expanded indictment adds his two alleged associates and the Fairford allegations.
Attention turns to another British base
The charges were disclosed as US aircraft were moved from another British installation, RAF Mildenhall in eastern England. A US official told the Associated Press the move responded to a threat and described it as precautionary, without identifying its nature or origin.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported an Iran-related threat. The official who spoke to AP did not detail such a connection. Britain’s Defense Ministry told Sky News it does not usually comment on other nations’ movements and that aircraft move for operational needs.
Fairford and Mildenhall are separate bases. The charges concern the alleged September plot against Fairford; in the reports cited, authorities have not publicly confirmed a connection between that case and the threat that prompted the Mildenhall movements.
