2 charged over alleged terror plot targeting RAF Fairford
British prosecutors have charged two men under the National Security Act following an incident at RAF Fairford, a major U.S. bomber base in England. Authorities believe one of the suspects was acting on behalf of Iran. Roughly a dozen U.S. B-1 bombers had previously been removed from the base after the incident.
Three suspected Iran-backed operatives allegedly planned to attack a British air base used by American forces with vans loaded with fuel barrels, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday by the Justice Department.
The eight-count superseding indictment names Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani, accusing them of terrorism-related crimes connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hizballah.
According to prosecutors, the alleged target was RAF Fairford, where U.S. military aircraft and personnel were based.
“Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American service members will be prosecuted by the United States government,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
A 2024 Justice Department image shows Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi in a conference room alongside weapons and a map of the United States. (Department of Justice)
The indictment says Al-Hassani instructed contacts in the United Kingdom to monitor RAF Fairford in August. He allegedly paid one person to film the base’s perimeter.
Investigators say the group later secured three vans and fuel barrels, looked into chemical accelerants and bought metal pieces that could serve as explosive shrapnel. To conceal their purpose, the vans were covered with commercial decals designed to make them look like vehicles used by fuel delivery or swimming pool supply companies.
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On Sept. 26, prosecutors allege, Al-Hassani ordered associates to drive the vans toward the base. At least two were stopped at a security checkpoint, preventing them from advancing. British authorities seized all three vehicles and arrested the occupants the next morning.
Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani, left, and Mohsen Mohajeri appear in an April 2026 video that prosecutors say captures them discussing plans for terrorist attacks. (Department of Justice)
Prosecutors contend that Al-Saadi helped organize the alleged operation while being held in New York on unrelated terrorism charges. He allegedly used phone calls with relatives in Iraq to pass coded instructions to the other suspects.
During a Sept. 24 call, Al-Saadi allegedly asked about Al-Hassani and told relatives to “give him [Al-Hassani] money so we can do it.”
The alleged RAF Fairford plot came after a series of attacks in Europe during March and April that prosecutors say the defendants helped coordinate for an Iran-linked terrorist network. The incidents involved synagogues, Jewish organizations, ambulances and an Israeli embassy, as well as the stabbing of two Jewish men in London.
Al-Saadi, who holds Iranian and Iraqi citizenship, was arrested overseas in May before being transferred to U.S. custody. In an earlier case, prosecutors accused him of helping direct about 18 attacks across Europe and trying to arrange an assault on a synagogue in Manhattan.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, circled in red, and Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani, circled in green, are shown in a video that prosecutors say depicts them directing an attack in Europe. (Department of Justice)
The defendants are charged with offenses that include conspiring to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, financing terrorism and plotting to bomb a place of public use. Several of the charges carry potential life sentences.
