US charges three Iranian operatives over UK airbase plot
The Justice Department alleges the men helped plan a September incident at RAF Fairford airbase in southwest England.
The US Justice Department on Tuesday announced charges against three men described as Iranian operatives regarding an alleged terrorist plot at the RAF Fairford airbase in southwest England. According to The Hindu, the individuals identified are Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri, and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani.
The indictment alleges the men helped plan and direct a September incident at the base, which the US military has used for operations against Iran. Al-Hassani, a 35-year-old Iraqi national, allegedly directed individuals to drive to the base in vans, some containing fuel barrels, after paying for metallic objects to be used as shrapnel.
Al-Saadi, 32, is a dual Iranian-Iraqi national already in a New York jail on terrorism charges. He allegedly passed coded messages to Mohajeri, 48, and Al-Hassani to coordinate the plot. The trio faces charges including conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Kataeb Hezbollah.
Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the US government will prosecute anyone planning terrorist plots on military bases that house American service members. Following the incident, the US withdrew all B-1 bombers from the base.
In the UK, two 24-year-old men from London, Mohmed Abdulkarim and Nouman Essghir, were charged under the National Security Act in connection with assisting Iran. British police also rearrested two men suspected of assisting Iran's intelligence service regarding the airbase incident.
