RAF Fairford organiser ‘orchestrated terror plot on Facetime’

The man suspected of organising a terror plot on RAF Fairford directed his plot on FaceTime, according to US prosecutors. According to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), the accused plotters Mohammad Ali Hassani and Mohsen Mohajeri received “information and directives” from Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi on how to attack the British airbase, which also holds US aircrafts and service members. Prosecutors also alleged that Mr Hassani, 35, was the man who “orchestrated” the plot as well as someone who “directed and paid associates” in Britain ahead of it. He is now facing six charges over terror-related offences, not just for RAF Fairford, but for also allegedly using FaceTime to direct another attack in the UK in April. “These defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organizations affiliated with Iran that targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, and the British military base, RAF Fairford, housing American service members,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said in a news release.The indictment offers fresh insight into an incident at RAF Fairford that has been shrouded in mystery (Getty Images)"The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical — it is very real.”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.”Hassani is accused of also being involved in planning an attack in April, as he allegedly directed potential perpetrators to take a lighter and “light one in your hand”, and “light it” and “throw the fourth one” over a FaceTime call which was projected on to a large screen. According to the indictment unsealed in a Manhattan court room, alleged plotter al-Saadi was in a US prison awaiting trial at the time of the plot, but is accused of using phone calls to pass coded messages to the other men. Al-Saadi was arrested in the spring over accusations of being Iran-supported operatives who plotted nearly 20 attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the U.S., but continued to coordinate with his co-defendants in the days leading up to the attempted September terrorist plot at Fairford, where U.S. bombers and troops had been stationed, prosecutors allege.The new indictment offers fresh insight into an incident that has been shrouded in mystery for more than a month. Five men were detained after midnight on Sept. 27 on suspected explosives and terrorism offenses after three suspicious vans were spotted traveling toward the base in western England.A sixth suspect, a British-Iranian dual national, was arrested several days later. All the men were released on bail.British authorities linked the incident to Tehran, and though Iran denied involvement, the arrests prompted the U.S. to withdraw its bombers that had been stationed there. The bombers were redeployed to their home bases in the United States.RAF Fairford, located 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of London, has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East.A B1 bomber prepares to take off as police officers guard a checkpoint near RAF Fairford air base, in Fairford, England, Sept. 29, 2026 (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)According to the indictment, al-Saadi used coded language in communications with relatives from jail to direct that money be passed along to others who could carry out attacks.The indictment alleged that the three men conspired together to use a network of contacts in the United Kingdom to commit terrorist attacks on behalf of an Iran-aligned terrorist network, which included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hizballah.In June, al-Saadi pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted at least 18 attacks in Europe in retaliation for the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran. He called himself a “prisoner of war.” He has been held without bail since. His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday on the latest development.Both Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been designated by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations. U.S. prosecutors say Al-Saadi was a Kata’ib Hizballah commander.