Three Iran-backed suspects plotted attacks including Golders Green incident, US says
According to the indictment, the men were involved in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks throughout Europe and the US, including the RAF Fairford incident
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced terrorism-related charges against three men over their alleged involvement in a string of incidents across the US and Europe, including the planning of a near-fatal stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London.
The DOJ said Iranian-Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Iranian national Mohsen Mohajeri, and Iraqi national Mohammad Ali al-Hassani had been charged in connection with their activities in support of two US-designated foreign terrorist organisations (FTO) – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.
The men were charged in an eight-count indictment which was unsealed on Tuesday, the department said, including a suspected Iran-related terror incident near RAF Fairford in September.
According to the indictment, the men were involved in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks throughout Europe and the US, including the RAF Fairford incident.
A statement from the DOJ said: “Al-Hassani and Mohajeri, both of whom were in Iran at the time of the RAF Fairford Terrorist Plot, allegedly relied on a network of contacts in the United Kingdom.
“Al-Saadi, who was imprisoned and awaiting trial on pending terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York, attempted to coordinate with al-Hassani and Mohajeri from jail by passing coded messages through third parties.
“Al-Saadi, a longtime operative of the IRGC and Kata’ib Hizballah, was charged in May for working with and on behalf of the IRGC and Kata’ib Hizballah, as well as other FTOs, for his involvement in planning and promoting approximately 18 terrorist attacks in Europe; and for attempting to bomb a synagogue in New York.”
The statement continued: “The European Terrorist Attacks were carried out in the name of a purportedly new terrorist group with the pseudonym Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), which is a front for Kata’ib Hizballah and other FTOs.
“Of the 18 terrorist attacks in the spring of 2026 for which HAYI claimed responsibility in Europe, seven took place in the United Kingdom, the most of any European country.
“The attacks involved arsons, explosives, and in one instance, a near-fatal stabbing in London of two Jewish men, including a dual U.S.-British citizen.”
Separately, a man is due to stand trial next year over the stabbing incident which occurred in Golders Green, north London, in April.
FBI director Kash Patel said: “This eight-count indictment shows the determination of Iran to commit terrorist attacks in Europe and the U.S., including one plot that was recently prevented at RAF Fairfield, a British Royal Air Force Base where American forces were stationed.”
Seven people have been arrested and bailed in the UK over the incident at the airbase near Gloucester, which was used by US bombers, after three suspicious vans were stopped near the location on September 27.
No explosive materials were found in the vans but a quantity of petrol was seized.
According to the DOJ, Al-Hassani “allegedly directed and paid associates in the United Kingdom to conduct preparatory steps and arrange logistics for the RAF Fairford Terrorist Plot”.
He is accused of paying an unnamed individual to “perform pre-operational surveillance of RAF Fairford’s perimeter”.
It is also alleged he “tasked and paid several individuals to help him prepare for the plot, including by procuring vans and barrels of fuel, researching the purchase of chemical accelerants, including large quantities of potassium chloride, and purchasing metallic objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel”.
The DOJ said Al-Hassani instructed those individuals to outfit the vans “to create the appearance that they were used by a fuel delivery business and a swimming pool supply business”.
The DOJ also said Al-Hassani was “in frequent communication” with the drivers of the vans the morning of the incident.
Two British nationals appeared in court last month in connection with the plot.
The US removed its bombers from the base following the incident, which Iran has denied any involvement with.