New York inmate allegedly used coded family calls to plot RAF Fairford attack

A man jailed in New York on terrorism charges used coded calls with his family to pass messages to Iranian operatives allegedly planning an attack on a British air base used by the US Air Force, according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

The charges provide fresh details about an alleged Iran-backed network accused of plotting nearly 20 attacks against Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, as well as RAF Fairford in western England. The case came to light after suspicious vans were seen travelling towards the base on September 27.

Prosecutors accused Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, of helping plan an attack on RAF Fairford despite being in custody since May. They said he used coded language during monitored phone and video calls with his mother and sister in Iraq to encourage associates to carry out the bombing.

Two other men, Iranian national Mohsen Mohajeri and Iraqi national Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, have also been charged in the case. Neither is in US custody.

Manhattan US Attorney Jamie McDonald said: "These defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organisations affiliated with Iran that targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, and the British military base, RAF Fairford, housing American service members."

"The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical — it is very real," McDonald said. Attorney General Todd Blanche said: "Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American service members will be prosecuted by the United States government."

Seven men arrested in the United Kingdom in connection with the incident at RAF Fairford were released on bail. One was later rearrested on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service and charged, along with another man, under the Security Act, British authorities said.

British authorities linked the incident to Tehran, which denied involvement. The arrests prompted the US to withdraw its bombers from RAF Fairford and redeploy them to the United States. The base, about 160 kilometres west of London, has been used by American bombers during conflicts in the Middle East.

According to the indictment, al-Saadi told his family from jail that he owed money to Mohajeri and asked them to pass messages to him about "work", a term prosecutors said he used for terrorist activity.

"What are they doing about all our old work?" al-Saadi asked his sister during a July 30 call, according to the indictment. He asked whether it had been cancelled or paused, and she replied that "it isn't canceled".

During a September 24 call, al-Saadi asked about al-Hassani and was told that he had been transferred to the " Section". He then instructed his family to "give him money so we can do it", the indictment said.

Al-Saadi has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest. The Justice Department said he was dangerous because of his desire to attack US and Israeli interests. Court filings said the FBI monitored and recorded each phone and video call he was allowed to make to his family.

In September, al-Saadi's lawyer complained that some calls were repeatedly interrupted or ended without explanation. The government later said it was limiting him to one hour-long call a month because of concerns that he was using coded terms such as "work" and "a job".

Prosecutors said al-Saadi took part in nine phone or video calls from jail between June and September. During one call, his mother told him to stop discussing a subject because "they may end the call". The FBI then ended the call, according to a court filing.

The indictment alleged that the three men used a network of contacts in the UK to plan attacks for an Iran-aligned network that included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata'ib Hizballah.

In mid-April, al-Saadi, al-Hassani and Mohajeri allegedly directed a person carrying out an arson attack on a Jewish charity organisation in London while watching a live video projected from a laptop onto a large screen. The next day, they allegedly directed another attack on a London synagogue, with al-Hassani telling the person to "light it up like a Christmas tree", the indictment said.

Al-Saadi pleaded not guilty in June to charges that he plotted at least 18 attacks in Europe in retaliation for the US and Israel's war with Iran. He described himself as a "prisoner of war" and has been held without bail. His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

The US government has designated Kata'ib Hizballah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as foreign terrorist organisations. Prosecutors describe al-Saadi as a Kata'ib Hizballah commander and accuse him of continuing to help direct alleged attacks from a New York jail through coded family calls.

With PTI Inputs

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