The US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment on Tuesday charging three men it alleges are Iran-backed operatives in connection with 18 attacks and attempted attacks in the United States and Europe, including a plot at the RAF Fairford airbase in England.
The defendants are Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national; and Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi citizen. The Justice Department said the men acted in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, or HAYI, and that some of the incidents were directed over FaceTime.
The department said al-Hassani most recently “orchestrated a terrorist plot” at RAF Fairford, where US armed forces are stationed. On 27 September, a major incident was declared after three suspicious vans were reported near the base in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire. No explosive materials were found in the vans, but a quantity of petrol was seized. Seven men have been arrested in the United Kingdom over the incident.
Al-Hassani and Mohajeri were both in Iran at the time of the RAF Fairford incident, the indictment alleges. Al-Saadi was coordinating with the pair through third parties from a prison in New York, where he is awaiting trial on previous charges after being arrested in August, the department said. US court records show al-Saadi is due in court on 19 November for a status conference, though it is not clear whether the appearance relates to the new charges or the earlier ones.
Mohajeri and al-Hassani are not in US custody, two sources said.
The Justice Department said the three men were involved in 18 attacks and attempted attacks, including in London, Amsterdam and Paris. It said HAYI claimed responsibility for 18 terrorist attacks in Europe in the spring of 2026, seven of which took place in the UK. Those attacks involved arsons, explosives and, in one case, a near-fatal stabbing in London of two Jewish men, including a dual US-British citizen.
Two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, in April. A suspect is due to stand trial next year.
The indictment also details an arson attack on a Jewish charity in London on 17 April, in which al-Hassani allegedly directed an individual over FaceTime. A building previously used by Jewish Futures, an educational charity, was set alight in Hendon, north-west London. The following day, the Justice Department said, al-Hassani took part in another video call with an individual carrying out an attack on a synagogue in London. On 18 April, Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow was targeted in an arson attack. A 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty to the incident earlier this year.
The indictment further alleges that the three men were involved in attacks on the Bank of New York Mellon building in Amsterdam on 15 March and on the Bank of America building in Paris on 28 March. It says they also tried to carry out attacks on Jewish institutions in the United States, including an attempt to target a synagogue in Manhattan in March or April.
“This eight-count indictment shows the determination of Iran to commit terrorist attacks in Europe and the US,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. He added that one of the three “allegedly sent coded messages to assist in future acts of violence” from detention. Patel said the accused were involved in nearly 20 attempted attacks in support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.
RAF Fairford plot
The Justice Department alleges that in August, al-Hassani directed and paid associates in the UK to conduct preparatory steps and arrange logistics for the RAF Fairford plot. On 22 August, he paid one individual to perform pre-operational surveillance of the base’s perimeter, the department said.
In September, al-Hassani paid several people to help prepare for the operation, according to the department. That included procuring vans and barrels of fuel, researching the purchase of chemical accelerants, including large quantities of potassium chloride, and buying metallic objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel. The suspects then gave the vans the appearance of being used by a fuel delivery business and a swimming pool supply business, the department said.
On 26 September, al-Hassani allegedly tasked individuals to drive three vans, some of which were later found to contain barrels of fuel, to the RAF Fairford base. The department said he was in frequent communication with the drivers and helped direct them where to drive. At least two of the three vans encountered a security roadblock while en route to the perimeter and were not allowed to proceed on their intended route.
In the very early hours of 27 September, a local farmer heading home from a party spotted the vans and called the police.
The Iranian embassy in London said it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns” what it called “unfounded and malicious speculations” linking Iran to the incident. Iran has strongly denied any involvement. Two British nationals appeared in court last month in connection with the alleged Iran-linked plot.
Bombers withdrawn
The United States withdrew all its bombers from RAF Fairford after the incident. President Donald Trump cited “some threats” to the base as the reason.
RAF Fairford has been used by the US Air Force for decades. In recent months, the US has flown B-1 and B-52 bombers from the base to the Middle East for “defensive” strikes on Iran. In July, Iran said “any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces.”