Federal prosecutors announced on Friday that an Iraqi national has been accused of scheming to launch terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, targeting locations such as a Jewish center in New York.
The suspect, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, is facing multiple charges. These include conspiring to supply material aid to terrorist entities backed by Iran, notably the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Kata’ib Hizballah, as outlined by the prosecution.
Al-Saadi made a court appearance in Lower Manhattan, where he remains in custody. His subsequent court date is scheduled for June 29.
Among the evidence presented in court are photographs showing Al-Saadi with Qasem Soleimani, the deceased leader of the IRGC.
Prosecutors have identified Al-Saadi as a commander within Kata’ib Hizballah. They assert that he has been actively involved in orchestrating, executing, and promoting around 18 terrorist attacks directed at U.S. and Israeli targets across Europe since March 9.
Sources reveal that British intelligence has been monitoring the group linked to Al-Saadi and had prior knowledge of its intentions to extend its operations to the United States.
Al-Saadi allegedly attempted to recruit an undercover agent to participate in the attack, showing the agent photos and maps of the target, a prominent synagogue. Prosecutors did not specify which one.
Prosecutors allege that on April 1, Al-Saadi was recorded on a phone call asking how much it would cost to hire someone “to carry out a bombing operation” in the U.S.
“I mean, we provide him with a Jewish temple, a Jewish center,” Al-Saadi allegedly said.
Al-Saadi was put in contact with an undercover agent, court papers show. He allegedly provided the undercover agent a photo and a mpa of the specific synagogue to attack. He also allegedly provided similar phots and maps of prominent Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona.
The undercover and Al-Saadi allegedly agreed on a price of $10,000 in cryptocurrency to carry out the attack, and Al-Saadi allegedly sent the undercover $3,000 in cryptocurrency as a down payment, along with a demand that the attack be carried out on April 6.
He was subsequently arrested.
“This case puts into stark relief the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies like Kata’ib Hizballah—foreign terrorist organizations that have repeatedly targeted Jewish communities across Europe and the United States since the war began,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we disrupted a plan to attack a Manhattan synagogue, and in partnership with the synagogue’s leadership, ensured its security when the threat was elevated.”
Check back soon for more on this developing story.
