Iranian 'mastermind directed RAF Fairford terror plot from New York jail'

Published: 20:36 EST, 11 November 2026 | Updated: 20:45 EST, 11 November 2026 The alleged Iranian mastermind of the RAF Fairford terror plot directed a wave of firebombings in Britain via video calls, US prosecutors have claimed.Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi is accused of smuggling out coded messages from his prison cell directing two lieutenants in Iran to coordinate a plot targeting the US base in Gloucestershire.Al-Saadi was caught by the FBI in May and charged with planning and promoting 18 terrorist attacks in Europe, including seven on Jewish targets in London at the behest of Tehran.He was extradited from Turkey to New York to await trial, but US authorities believe he continued to use 'coded language' to direct the Fairford plot from his cell.Al-Saadi, 32, is also said to have made money transfers of $1million (£750,000) and overseen the release of propaganda videos in FaceTime calls to his mother and sister. He was charged on Tuesday with Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, 35, a dual Iranian/Iraqi national, and Iranian Mohsen Mohajeri, 48, who are accused of using 'a network of contacts' in the UK to target RAF Fairford.The US Department of Justice say Hassani arranged surveillance on the airbase and 'paid several individuals' to help prepare the plot, including by 'procuring vans and barrels of fuel' and 'purchasing metallic objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel'. It is claimed he was in 'frequent' contact with the drivers of three vans on the night of the plot. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi is accused of smuggling out coded messages from his prison cell directing two lieutenants in Iran to coordinate a plot targeting the US base in Gloucestershire Photos show Mohammed Ali al-Hassani, left, and Mohsen Mohajerilooking at a London map during a 'meeting to plot terror attacks' Armed police maintain road blocks and security checks around RAF Fairford on September 27Five British men travelling in the vans with a quantity of petrol were arrested on September 27 near the base, used by the US to launch air strikes against Iran.Al-Saadi was previously charged in May with working on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and terror group Kata'ib Hizballah on 18 European terror attacks and for attempting to bomb a New York synagogue. The attacks are said to be 'psychological warfare' using proxies recruited online to retaliate over US-Israeli strikes.Al-Saadi is now accused of running a new terror group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya. It claimed responsibility for arson attacks on ambulances and synagogues in London, plus a drone attack on the Israeli embassy.Court documents state that on the flight to New York, al-Saadi told the FBI he met with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran three days before Iran's supreme leader was killed. But he later pleaded not guilty to eight counts of terrorism in the US, saying: 'I'm not guilty and in a war situation.'US prosecutors released photos allegedly of him planning attacks in April on a FaceTime call with an individual about to firebomb a London synagogue. Photos also show Hassani and Mohajeri looking at a London map during a 'meeting to plot terror attacks'.In a video of that meeting, Hassani allegedly told Mohajeri: 'We need to get focused on London.'In another call, Hassani is said to have told a London synagogue firebomber to 'light it up like a Christmas tree'.