The United States accuses three men of planning terrorist attacks, including a planned assault on an air base in Britain

NEW YORK (AP) — Three men, including one already imprisoned in the United States, were charged Tuesday by U.S. authorities with being Iranian-backed operatives who planned nearly 20 attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, as well as a planned assault on a British air base used by the U.S. Air Force.

Charges against Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al Saadi, dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, were identified in a superseding indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. Only al-Saadi is in detention.

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald in New York said in a news release that al-Saadi, who was arrested in the spring, continued to coordinate with his co-defendants in the days before the attempted terrorist plot in September at a British Royal Air Force base in Fairford, U.K., where U.S. bombers and troops were stationed.

“These defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of Iranian-affiliated terrorist organizations that targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, as well as the British military base RAF Fairford, which houses U.S. military personnel,” McDonald said. “The threat that Iran and Iranian-backed terrorist groups pose to America and our allies is not hypothetical – it is very real. »

Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing U.S. service members will be prosecuted by the United States government. »

The new indictment offers fresh insight into an episode that remained shrouded in mystery for more than a month after five men were arrested after midnight on September 27 for alleged offenses relating to explosives and terrorism, after three suspicious vans were spotted heading towards the base in the west of England.

A sixth suspect, having dual Anglo-Iranian nationality, was arrested a few days later. All the men were released on bail.

British authorities linked the incident to Tehranand although Iran denied any involvement, the arrests prompted the United States to withdraw its bombers stationed there. The bombers were redeployed to their original bases in the United States.

RAF Fairford, located 100 miles west of London, was used by US bombers during decades of conflict in the Middle East.

According to the indictment, al-Saadi used coded language in his communications with his imprisoned relatives to order money to be passed to others who could carry out attacks.

The indictment alleged that the three men conspired together to use a network of contacts in the United Kingdom to carry out terrorist attacks on behalf of an Iranian-aligned terrorist network, which included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hezbollah.

In June, al-Saadi pleaded not guilty to charges that he planned at least 18 attacks in Europe in retaliation for the US-Israeli war against Iran. He called himself a “prisoner of war”. He has been held without bail ever since. His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday on the latest developments.

Kata’ib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been designated by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations. U.S. prosecutors say Al-Saadi was a commander of Kata’ib Hezbollah.

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Tucker reported from Washington.