Revealed: How three Iran-backed 'terror masterminds' allegedly plotted multiple attacks on London

Huddled over a laptop, Mohammad Ali al-Hassani and Mohsen Mohajeri stare at a map of London on the screen, according to legal papers.“We need to get focused on London,” Mohajeri allegedly told al-Hassani.Mohammad Ali al-Hassani (left) and Mohsen Mohajeri (right) looking at a map of London, according to the US Department of JusticeUS Justice DepartmentIn the photo, Mohajeri’s hand is on the computer mouse, according to the legal documents, which would have enabled him to move the cursor around the map of London, with the outline of The Thames seemingly visible on screen.The hand of a third man, sitting in a chair, can be seen in the background.Details of the alleged meeting have emerged in an indictment by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on terrorism-related charges against three men over their suspected involvement in nearly 20 incidents across Europe and America.The DOJ said Iranian-Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Iranian national Mohajeri, and Iraqi national al-Hassani had been charged in an eight-count indictment in connection with their alleged activities in support of two US-designated foreign terrorist organisations, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.The arson attack on Hatzola ambulances in north LondonJamie Lashmar/PA WireMohajeri, 48, is an IRGC operative, according to the documents, unsealed in a Manhattan court.Al-Hassani, 35, an Iraqi citizen who had lived in Britain, is alleged to have used his contacts and criminal associates to carry out terror attacks in the UK.Read MoreA string of terror attacks in Britain and other European countries, the documents added, were carried out in the name of a purportedly new terrorist group with the pseudonym Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), which was allegedly a front for Kata’ib Hizballah.“The attacks in London included arson attacks involving Hatzalah ambulances, synagogues, and a Jewish charity organization; an attempted attack on the Israeli Embassy, using two drones that HAYI later claimed were loaded with dangerous carcinogenic and radioactive materials; and a stabbing attack that seriously injured two Jewish men - including a dual US-UK citizen,” says the indictment.Men in hazmat suits and a drone allegedly used in a propaganda video on an ‘attack’ on Israel’s Embassy in London which did not happenUS Justice DepartmentThe US Justice Department appeared to have obtained startling details about the alleged terror plotting.“Al-Saadi, Mohajeri, and Al-Hassani were allegedly personally involved in planning many of the European Terrorist Attacks, and al-Saadi and Mohajeri helped create and publish online propaganda videos of these attacks,” say the US legal papers.“On or about April 6, 2026, Mohajeri and al-Hassani planned attacks while together in a room in Iraq with a map of London displayed on a computer screen,” the indictment states. “In the video, Mohajeri told al-Hassani, ‘we need to get focused on London’.“HAYI then claimed responsibility for six terrorist attacks that occurred in and around London starting approximately one week later.”Image from an April video showing al-Saadi (circled in red) and al-Hassani (circled in green), as they direct and film a terrorist attack in Europe, according to the DOJDOJOn or about April 17, al-Saadi, al-Hassani, and Mohajeri allegedly directed an individual to carry out in real time an attack on a Jewish charity in London.“Al-Hassani directed the perpetrators’ actions, including by instructing the individual on the other end of the call to execute the attack and directing that individual to take a lighter and ‘light one in your hand,’ ‘light it,’ and ‘throw the fourth one,’ according to the DOJ. “Al-Saadi recorded the attack in real time, while Mohajeri recorded al-Hassani and al-Saadi in the room as they directed the attack.” In another alleged incident, on or about April 18, al-Hassani participated in another video call “with an individual carrying out an attack on a synagogue in London, with the HAYI logo projected on the background of al-Hassani’s screen,” say the legal documents.They add: “During the video call, al-Hassani directed the individual to ‘light it up like a Christmas tree’.“The person then lit an improvised explosive device and threw it at a building.”An image from an April video of an attack on a London synagogue, according to the DOJDOJThe synagogue is not named.The documents alleged that on or about April 24, Mohajeri sent al-Saadi an attachment “titled ‘New Goals’, which was a plan for future terrorist attacks that included images of synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses in and around London, as well as maps identifying those exact locations, and stated “5 New Goals, send to Ali”.In June, he pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted at least 18 attacks in Europe in retaliation for the US and Israel's war with Iran. A 2024 Photo of al-Saadi in a conference room with guns and maps of America and targets, according to US Justice DepartmentDOJHowever, the DOJ claims he carried out terror plotting from behind bars in Brooklyn jail, including on the RAF base in Gloucestershire, by allegedly passing on messages through his family, referring to planned strikes as “work”.The legal papers add: “Al-Hassani and Mohajeri, both of whom were in Iran at the time of the RAF Fairford Terrorist Plot, allegedly relied on a network of contacts in the United Kingdom.“Al-Saadi, who was imprisoned and awaiting trial on pending terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York, attempted to coordinate with al-Hassani and Mohajeri from jail by passing coded messages through third parties.”Separately, a man is due to stand trial next year over the stabbing incident in Golders Green, north London, in April.FBI director Kash Patel said: “This eight-count indictment shows the determination of Iran to commit terrorist attacks in Europe and the US, including one plot that was recently prevented at RAF Fairfield, a British Royal Air Force Base where American forces were stationed.”Police patrolling the perimeter as a US Air Force Rockwell B-1 Lancer bomber lands at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire earlier this yearPA WireSeven people have been arrested and bailed in the UK over the incident at the airbase near Gloucester, which was used by US bombers, after three suspicious vans were stopped near the location on September 27.No explosive materials were found in the vans but a quantity of petrol was seized.Al-Hassani is accused of paying an unnamed individual to “perform pre-operational surveillance of RAF Fairford’s perimeter”.It is also alleged he “tasked and paid several individuals to help him prepare for the plot, including by procuring vans and barrels of fuel, researching the purchase of chemical accelerants, including large quantities of potassium chloride, and purchasing metallic objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel”.The DOJ said al-Hassani instructed those individuals to outfit the vans “to create the appearance that they were used by a fuel delivery business and a swimming pool supply business”.Al-Hassani was allegedly “in frequent communication” with the drivers of the vans the morning of the incident.