Key takeaways: US prosecutors have charged three Iran-backed operatives over nearly 20 attacks in Europe and the United States, including a foiled bomb plot at RAF Fairford. They say the alleged ringleader directed the plot from a New York jail cell using coded family phone calls, as US aircraft left a second British base over a new Iran threat.
An Iran-backed operative awaiting trial in a New York jail allegedly directed a foiled bomb plot against a British airbase housing American bombers, using coded messages in phone calls to his family in Iraq, according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national, was charged alongside two men based in Iran, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, with terrorism offences linked to Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s IRGC, both designated foreign terrorist organisations by the United States.
The eight-count superseding indictment, unsealed in the Southern District of New York, accuses the three of involvement in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States, including the September plot at RAF Fairford, where US military aircraft and personnel were stationed.
The charges came as the United States moved military aircraft out of a second British base, RAF Mildenhall, after a reported threat from Iran.
What prosecutors say happened at Fairford
According to the Justice Department, al-Hassani orchestrated the Fairford plot from Iran, relying on contacts in the United Kingdom. In August, prosecutors say, he directed and paid associates in Britain to arrange logistics, including video surveillance of the base.
The network allegedly bought vans, barrels of fuel, chemical accelerants including potassium chloride, and metal for bomb shrapnel. The vans were decorated to look like fuel and swimming pool business vans, prosecutors say.
Three vans were driven towards RAF Fairford on September 26. Two were stopped at a roadblock and all three were seized the next day, after explosives were found in a van. Seven men were arrested and later released on bail; two of them, Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim and Nouman Essghir, both 24, were later charged under the National Security Act and appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on October 27.
Al-Saadi’s alleged role was to coordinate from behind bars. Despite being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, prosecutors say he passed coded messages to al-Hassani and Mohajeri through recorded phone calls to his mother and sister in Iraq.
In June and July, the indictment alleges, he asked his family about “work” and whether it had been cancelled. Three days before the police operation, he allegedly told relatives to give al-Hassani money “so we can do it”.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the case showed the reach of American prosecution. “Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American servicemembers will be prosecuted by the United States government,” he said.
A campaign across Europe
The Fairford plot was not, on the prosecution’s account, a one-off. Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey in May 2026 and transferred to US custody, charged over about 18 attacks in Europe and an attempted bombing of a synagogue in New York. He has pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors say he has worked for the IRGC and Kata’ib Hizballah since at least 2017.
The indictment says the trio organised 18 attacks in Europe earlier this year, after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February, seven of them in the United Kingdom, including a stabbing attack on two Jewish men in London, one a US citizen. The group also allegedly tried to burn down the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam.
Prosecutors say the attacks were carried out under the name of a purportedly new group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the indictment showed Iran’s determination to attack in Europe and the United States. It is not yet clear whether Mohajeri and al-Hassani are in custody.
A second British base moves its jets
While the indictment was being unsealed in New York, the US military was already moving aircraft out of RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, after a threat from Iran first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Flight tracking analysed by CNN showed 10 KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft relocated from Mildenhall on November 9: four to Spangdahlem in Germany, one to Ramstein, four to Moron in Spain and one to Glasgow Prestwick in Scotland. Other reports put the total at up to 12, with at least three Osprey aircraft shifted to nearby RAF Lakenheath.
The United States also raised the security posture at Mildenhall and Lakenheath to FPCON Charlie, the second-highest level in the Pentagon’s force protection system, which applies when intelligence indicates that terrorist action is likely.
Mildenhall is home to the 100th Air Refueling Wing, the only permanently based US aerial refuelling wing in Europe. A US official called the move a “temporary relocation”. Britain said on Tuesday that its military bases were safe.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is “constantly repositioning forces around the world for a variety of reasons”.
The Mildenhall evacuation follows the earlier withdrawal from Fairford, where the US moved about a dozen B-1B Lancer bombers to other airports after the September arrests. Fairford had been used by the bombers to carry out strikes on Iran.
The defence pushes back
The case against al-Saadi is not uncontested, and the coded phone calls at its centre have already drawn scepticism from the judge overseeing his trial.
The Justice Department moved last month to limit al-Saadi’s family calls to once a month, citing the alleged coded language. But Judge Colleen McMahon ruled on November 4 that the argument was “vague and does not appear to be linked to discrete criminal planning or conduct”.
His lawyers say the claim rests on questionable Arabic translations and called it speculative in an October court filing.
Al-Saadi has previously cast himself as a prisoner of war, telling a court in June: “I’m not a criminal. Our children are being killed by your rockets.”
Those arguments will be tested at trial. For now, the indictment is the fullest public account yet of a plot British police disrupted in September without explaining who prosecutors believe was behind it.
Why it matters
Together, the indictment and the Mildenhall evacuation show a US-Iran confrontation fought on several fronts at once: in courtrooms, on British airfields, and in the air over the Gulf.
The United States and Iran have been at war since February. American forces struck Iran’s Qeshm Island on November 7, while talks continue in Doha, and President Donald Trump has warned another US strike could be about five times larger than the previous one.
For Britain, the episode is uncomfortable: two of its airbases have had American aircraft moved off them over Iran-linked threats within about six weeks, and British nationals have been charged over one of the plots. London insists its bases are safe, but the US military’s own decisions tell a different story about the risk as Washington sees it.
For the US administration, the indictment answers a question that has hung over Fairford since September: who was behind it. Until Tuesday, the case had remained shrouded in mystery, with seven men bailed and little official explanation. Prosecutors now say the answer runs through a jail cell in Brooklyn and a network directed from Tehran.
What happens next
Al-Saadi remains in custody in New York awaiting trial, now on the expanded indictment. The two co-defendants are believed to be in Iran, and it is unclear whether the US will be able to bring them into custody.
In Britain, the two men charged under the National Security Act will face trial, while six others arrested in the Fairford investigation remain on police bail.
The Mildenhall aircraft are expected to return once the US judges the threat has passed, though no timetable has been given. The wider question, whether the Doha talks can produce a settlement before the next escalation, remains open.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Mohammad al-Saadi?
A 32-year-old dual Iranian-Iraqi national who US prosecutors say is a longtime operative of Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s IRGC. He was arrested in Turkey in May 2026, transferred to the United States, and is held in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial. He has pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges.
What was the RAF Fairford plot?
Prosecutors say three vans, allegedly carrying explosives, were driven towards RAF Fairford in England on September 26, 2026. Two were stopped at a roadblock and all three were seized the next day. The base housed US B-1 bombers used in strikes on Iran. Two men in Britain have been charged under the National Security Act over the incident.
Why did the US move aircraft from RAF Mildenhall?
The US evacuated refuelling aircraft from the Suffolk base on Monday, November 9, after a threat from Iran reported by the Wall Street Journal, and raised the security level at Mildenhall and nearby RAF Lakenheath to FPCON Charlie, the second-highest threat level. Britain said its bases were safe.
Are the charges proven?
No. The indictment contains allegations, and al-Saadi has pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges. A judge has questioned whether the evidence about coded phone calls is specific enough, and his lawyers dispute the translations. The allegations will be tested at trial.
Sources
- US Department of Justice, “Three Iranian-Backed Operatives Indicted for Their Roles in Nearly 20 Terrorist Attacks and Attempted Attacks Across Europe and the United States”, November 10, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-iranian-backed-operatives-indicted-their-roles-nearly-20-terrorist-attacks-and
- NY Post, “Iran ‘terrorist’ orchestrated foiled plot on UK military base from NYC prison cell: feds”, November 10, 2026: https://nypost.com/2026/11/10/us-news/three-iran-backed-operatives-charged-in-plot-targeting-uk-air-base-hosting-us-aircraft/
- CNN, “US evacuates aircraft from British military base after threat from Iran”, November 10, 2026: https://www.cnn.com/2026/11/10/world/us-moves-aircraft-british-military-base-intl?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_meta
- The National, “Iran threat forces US aircraft out of second British airbase”, November 10, 2026: https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/europe/2026/11/10/us-pulls-aircraft-from-second-uk-airbase-over-iran-threat/
- Reuters via Tribune, “Britain says its bases are safe after US refuelling planes evacuated”, November 10, 2026: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2639568/us-aircraft-evacuated-from-second-british-base-due-to-iran-threat-wsj-reports?amp=1
- Jerusalem Post (Reuters), “Iran-backed group member helped plan attack on Fairford air base, US says”, November 10, 2026: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-914520
- Ynet (AP), “Iran-linked threat prompts US aircraft move from British base, officials say”, November 10, 2026: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/skhcx2xcfx
- The Sun, “Iranian operative behind bars in America charged with masterminding failed RAF Fairford ‘bomb’ plot”, November 10, 2026: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40983072/iranian-operative-charged-over-raf-fairford-bomb-plot/
