Iranian ‘terrorist’ foiled plot on British military base from New York prison cell, federal government says

WASHINGTON — An Iranian-backed operative orchestrated a terrorist plot to target a U.S. bomber at a British military base from his New York prison cell — using “coded messages” in phone calls to relatives in Iraq, according to a federal indictment obtained Tuesday.

The alleged mastermind, Mohammad al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi citizen, was arrested in Turkey in May and transferred to the United States to face charges related to nearly 20 other terrorist attacks in Europe.

Although he was in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, he still oversaw the plot against U.S. forces at Royal Air Force Base Fairford and gave final approval, according to a superseding indictment in the Southern District of New York.

British police arrested, and later released on bail, seven men following the RAF Fairford security alert and the case had remained mired in mystery until now, although President Trump publicly stated that he believed the incident was linked to Iran.

The new indictment says that al-Saadi, working with two co-defendants based in Iran, used phone calls with his mother and sister to pass messages to the other suspects, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad al-Hassani.

The three men are believed to be part of a terrorist network linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

It was not yet known Tuesday afternoon whether Mohajeri and al-Hassani were in custody.

In June and July, prosecutors say al-Saadi told his mother and sister in recorded prison calls that he owed Mohajeri money and asked them to relay messages about “work.”

“What are they doing with all our old work?” he allegedly asked his sister, asking if this work had been canceled or suspended.

His sister reportedly informed him that “it’s not canceled.”

Three days before the September 27 arrest by British police, al-Saadi reportedly asked his family about al-Hassani and was told that his comrade had been transferred to the “International Section.”

He then told those close to him to “give him (al-Hassani) some money so we can do it,” triggering the attempted attack, according to the indictment.

Al-Hassani is said to have prepared the ground before this order.

In August, he “directed and paid associates in the United Kingdom to conduct preparatory steps and organize logistics,” including conducting video surveillance of the base, according to court documents.

The same alleged co-conspirator paid co-conspirators to acquire vans, barrels of fuel and chemical accelerators, including potassium chloride, and metal to use as shrapnel — with the vans decorated to look like commercial fuel and pool vans, authorities allege.

Three vehicles were reported to have been taken to RAF Fairford on September 26. Two were arrested at a roadblock and all three were eventually seized by British authorities the next day.

The ringleaders are believed to be associated with the Iraqi militia Kata’ib Hezbollah, which is under the command of the Iranian IRGC.

Trump condemned British officials for releasing the seven alleged accomplices on bail. A few days later, the US military moved a dozen B-1B Lancer bombers to other airports to limit risks.

“There were threats and rather than tempt the enemy, we are going to capture the enemy and defeat them,” Trump said at the time. “But why should we leave them there? So we moved them a little.”

The trio of Iran-backed conspirators allegedly staged 18 terrorist attacks in Europe earlier this year after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Seven of these incidents took place in the United Kingdom, including a stabbing attack on two Jewish men in London, one of whom is a US citizen. The group also allegedly attempted to burn down the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam.

Al-Saadi has pleaded not guilty and smiled in previous court appearances as he tried to portray himself as a prisoner of war fighting against the United States in response to the country’s ongoing war with Iran.

“I am not a criminal… Our children are being killed by your rockets,” he said, through an Arabic interpreter, during a hearing in June.

The Justice Department decided last month to limit Al-Saadi’s phone calls with his family to once a month because of the alleged “coded language” he used, but Judge Colleen McMahon urged the government to provide more details about what the accused terrorist allegedly talked about.

“The government’s argument that defendant uses coded language during his video calls with family members to communicate with his FTO confederates is vague and does not appear to be related to covert criminal planning or conduct,” McMahon wrote in a Nov. 4 ruling, using an acronym for Foreign Terrorist Organization. “The Court needs to hear more.”

Al-Saadi’s federal defender, Andrew Dalack, who declined to comment today, said in a court filing Tuesday afternoon that the accused terrorist was under a complex and highly restrictive restraining system when they met at the prison hours earlier.

“During our approximately two-hour meeting with Mr. Al-Saadi earlier today, he was restrained the entire time in leg irons and front handcuffs attached to a chain wrapped around his stomach, which prevented him from moving his arms or hands,” Dalack and his colleagues at the Federal Defenders of New York wrote.