US charges three Iran-backed suspects with RAF Fairford plot

Charges cover multiple European sites

The indictment unsealed on Tuesday names Mohsen Mohajeri, Mohammad Ali al-Hassani and Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi as the accused. These three men face accusations regarding eighteen separate attacks and attempted attacks across London, Amsterdam and Paris. The Department of Justice states that Iranian agents orchestrated the recent incident at an air force base in the United Kingdom. Mohajeri and al-Hassani are currently not in custody while al-Saadi awaits trial in a New York prison.

Attacks targeted Jewish institutions

Among the allegations are leading arson assaults targeting the Bank of New York Mellon structure in Amsterdam on 15 March and the Bank of America edifice in Paris on 28 March. In London, a charity building previously used by Jewish Futures was set alight in Hendon on 17 April. On the following day, Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow was targeted in another arson attack where a seventeen-year-old boy pleaded guilty. Two Jewish men were also stabbed in Golders Green north London during an incident in April.

Coordinators used video calls

Prosecutors claim the suspects coordinated these incidents over FaceTime while al-Saadi remained in a New York prison. Al-Hassani allegedly orchestrated the plot at RAF Fairford where suspicious vans were reported near the base on 27 September. Seven men have been arrested in the UK over that specific incident at the air force base. The indictment alleges that al-Saadi passed coded messages to associates in Iran while awaiting his own trial.