US Charges Three Men Over Alleged Iran-Backed Plot to Attack RAF Fairford Airbase

Image: A US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress at RAF Fairford, England, in May 2024 (file photo) via Wikimedia Commons — public domain, US Air Force photo.

The United States has charged three men with plotting a series of terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States, including a planned assault on a British airbase used by the US Air Force, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.

Key facts

• The three men are Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, 48, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, 35, an Iraqi national, according to the BBC and the Associated Press.
• They face an eight-count indictment unsealed in a Manhattan federal court, including conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah.
• Prosecutors allege the men plotted nearly 20 attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, as well as the planned attack on RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
• The alleged plot centred on a major incident on 27 September, when three suspicious vans were spotted near RAF Fairford and five men were detained on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences.
• Only al-Saadi is in custody. Prosecutors say he coordinated with his co-defendants from a prison in New York, where he is awaiting trial on earlier charges, while the other two men are accused of acting from Iran.

Background

According to the indictment, the men operated under the name Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand). Beginning in August 2026, al-Hassani allegedly directed and paid associates in Britain to carry out surveillance around the base ahead of a planned attack. FBI Director Kash Patel said the accused acted in support of Iran's IRGC and Kataib Hezbollah. 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."

RAF Fairford, about 100 miles (160 km) west of London, is the US Air Force's only dedicated forward operating location for heavy bombers in Europe. After the September incident, the United States withdrew all of its B-1 bombers from the base, and this week it also moved refuelling aircraft out of RAF Mildenhall amid heightened security threat assessments linked to Tehran, according to reports.

Iran has strongly denied any involvement. The Iranian embassy in London rejected the allegations linking Iran to the RAF Fairford incident. Seven men have been arrested in the UK over the September incident, according to the BBC.

The case is the latest escalation in the wider confrontation between the US and Iran, and it comes as Washington says it is also pursuing talks with Tehran. No trial date has been set for the new charges.