Coded messages from jail cell: How alleged Iranian operative coordinated foiled RAF Fairford terror plot

The United States has charged three men linked to Iran in relation to the major incident at RAF Fairford in the UK.2024 Photo of al-Saadi in a conference room with guns and map of U.S. and targets (redacted and blurred). (US Justice Department)The incident, which took place on September 27, occurred near RAF Fairford airbase in Gloucestershire, England. Police intercepted three suspicious vans near the Air Force base containing fuel barrels.American and British authorities suspected an Iranian link to the foiled terror plot, while Tehran has denied any involvement in the case.Three men indicted for alleged role in RAF Fairford terror plotAccording to the DOJ, an eight-count superseding indictment was unsealed charging Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, with terrorism-related offences for their activities in support of Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).The three men have been accused of aiding the IRGC in planning terror attacks across the US and Europe, and the most recent one at RAF Fairford.Also Read | US charges 3 alleged Iran operatives for targeting RAF Fairford in UK, 20 other terror plotsRAF Fairford, while a British base, is used by the US Air Force for its bomber aircraft. The base was also reportedly in use for the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran.“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,” said FBI director Kash Patel.Among the three operatives is Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, who sent out coded messages from a jail cell in New York to coordinate the foiled terror plot at RAF Fairford.How al-Saadi sent coded messages from jailAccording to FBI director Kash Patel, al-Saadi is behind bars awaiting trial "yet he allegedly sent coded messages to assist in future acts of violence."US Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York also noted that the operative continued to coordinate "terrorist activity through coded communications and a network of associates overseas."As per the statement from the Justice Department, Al-Saadi used nicknames to direct his family members in Iraq to transfer money in support of the plot. Prosecutors added that he also asked his family members to pass along "work" messages to Mohajeri. Here, "work" is believed to have been used to describe terrorist attacks, claim authorities."On one of those calls, al-Saadi also asked his sister, “What are they doing about all our old work?” and asked her whether it had been cancelled or just put on pause. Al-Saadi’s sister responded that “it isn’t cancelled.”, noted DOJ.Prosecutors have also alleged that al-Saadi worked closely with former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds force, Qasem Soleimani.Prosecutors added that al-Saadi was “close” to the former Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and warned him three days before the US launched its war “about a potential US strike against Iran.”