Three men have been charged in the United States over an alleged terrorist plot targeting RAF Fairford, a British military base in Gloucestershire. The US Justice Department said the defendants are accused of supporting Kata'ib Hizballah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both designated as foreign terrorist organisations by the US, and of involvement in a September 2026 terror scheme aimed at the base.
Defendants and allegations
The three defendants are Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, of Iranian-Iraqi nationality, Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian citizen, and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national. The Justice Department linked the trio to roughly 20 attacks and attempted strikes throughout Europe and the United States.
Al-Hassani is alleged to have orchestrated the terrorist conspiracy at RAF Fairford, which was accommodating US military aircraft and personnel during the period of the intended assault. Both al-Hassani and Mohajeri, operating from Iran throughout the RAF Fairford Terrorist Plot, purportedly employed a web of associates in the UK.
Details of the plot
According to the Justice Department, al-Hassani is accused of directing and paying accomplices in the United Kingdom to undertake preparatory measures and organise logistics for the plot in August of this year. Prosecutors claim that on August 22, al-Hassani paid an individual to conduct 'pre-operational surveillance of RAF Fairford's perimeter', later receiving video footage of the area surrounding the base.
The following month, al-Hassani allegedly paid several people to help him prepare for the plot, with duties including securing vans and fuel drums, researching how to obtain chemical accelerants such as large amounts of potassium chloride, and purchasing metal objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel. Under al-Hassani's direction, these individuals arranged for custom decals to be produced and fixed to the vans, creating the appearance they were operated by a fuel delivery company and a swimming pool maintenance business.
Arrests and legal response
On September 26, al-Hassani allegedly instructed people to drive three vans, some subsequently discovered to be carrying fuel drums, in the direction of the RAF Fairford base. At least two of the three vehicles were halted at a security checkpoint while heading towards the perimeter and barred from proceeding. In the early morning hours of the next day, officers arrested those inside the van.
Al-Saadi, who was apprehended and awaiting trial on separate terrorism accusations in the Southern District of New York, allegedly sought to establish contact with al-Hassani and Mohajeri from custody by transmitting encrypted communications through third parties.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said: "Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American servicemembers will be prosecuted by the United States government." He continued: "The defendants listed in the indictment allegedly supported two foreign terrorist organisations, and al-Saadi allegedly coordinated with his co-defendants in the days leading up to the attempted terrorist plot." FBI Director Kash Patel noted that the eight-count indictment "shows the determination of Iran to commit terrorist attacks" in America and Europe.
