US Indictment Adds Two Defendants And RAF Fairford Plot Allegations
A superseding indictment expands an existing US terrorism case with two co-defendants and allegations concerning a September plot at RAF Fairford.
US prosecutors have expanded a terrorism case against Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, adding Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammed Ali al-Hassani as co-defendants. The eight-count superseding indictment, announced in a 10th November Justice Department press release, includes allegations involving a September plot at RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base in the UK.
Prosecutors allege the men conspired to organise attacks in Europe and the US on behalf of two organisations: Kata'ib Hizballah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The United States designates both as foreign terrorist organisations. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The New Allegations Extend An Existing Case
Al-Saadi was already the subject of an eight-count indictment described in a 28th May press release. That case concerned alleged support for terrorist organisations, attacks in Europe and an attempted bombing of a New York synagogue. Al-Saadi pleaded not guilty to the original indictment on 1st June, the court docket records.
The new indictment alleges that al-Hassani organised a plot against RAF Fairford in September, when the base housed US military aircraft and personnel. Prosecutors say al-Saadi tried to coordinate with the other defendants while detained and awaiting trial in New York.
Six counts in the new indictment name all three defendants, covering alleged material support, a bombing conspiracy and terrorism financing. Two additional counts name al-Saadi alone.
Separate Proceedings In The UK
The UK's Crown Prosecution Service said in a 27th October press release that two other men, Mohmed Abdulkarim and Nouman Essghir, had been charged following an investigation involving RAF Fairford.
Abdulkarim was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service under section 3 of the National Security Act 2023. Essghir faces a charge under section 4 concerning a prohibited place. The CPS announcement describes separate UK proceedings; it is not a finding that the three defendants in the US indictment committed the alleged Fairford plot.
The November US and October UK announcements do not include responses to the charges they describe.
A separate US action targeted Canadian crypto firms through financial sanctions, covered in our report on the Iran-linked sanctions designations. That measure is distinct from a criminal prosecution.
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