US charges three men over alleged Iran-backed plots in Europe
The US Justice Department has charged three men it describes as Iran-backed operatives over alleged plots in the United States and Europe, including a plot at RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base in Gloucestershire, England. The eight-count superseding indictment, an updated charging document, was announced on Tuesday 10 November. Kash Patel, director of the FBI, said the charges show Iran's determination to carry out terrorist attacks in Europe and the US.
The three men are Mohsen Mohajeri, Mohammad Ali al-Hassani and Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi. Al-Saadi is a dual Iranian-Iraqi citizen, Mohajeri is Iranian, and al-Hassani is Iraqi. According to the charges, al-Saadi communicated with contacts in the UK from a New York prison, where he is awaiting trial on earlier charges. The other two are accused of communicating from Iran.
The RAF Fairford case began on 27 September, when a major incident was declared near the base after three suspicious vans were seen nearby. US armed forces are stationed at the base. No explosive materials were found in the vans, but a quantity of petrol was seized. BBC News reports that seven men have been arrested in the UK over the incident.
The Justice Department alleges that al-Hassani directed and paid UK associates in August to carry out preparations and arrange logistics. He is alleged to have paid one person on 22 August to conduct surveillance of the base's perimeter. The preparations allegedly included buying vans and barrels of fuel, researching large quantities of potassium chloride and other chemical accelerants, and purchasing metal objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel. The vans were allegedly made to look as if they belonged to a fuel delivery business and a swimming pool supply company.
On 26 September, the department alleges, al-Hassani tasked people with driving three vans, some of which later contained barrels of fuel, to the base. At least two of the vans reportedly met a security roadblock and were not allowed to continue on their intended route.
The department also alleges that the three men planned attacks in Europe carried out under the name Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, known as HAYI. According to the department, HAYI claimed responsibility for 18 terrorist attacks in Europe in spring 2026, seven of them in the UK. The attacks included arson, explosives and a stabbing in London that nearly killed two Jewish men, one of whom held dual US and British citizenship.
Patel said the accused were involved in nearly 20 attempted attacks carried out in support of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kataib Hezbollah. The Justice Department identifies both groups as foreign terrorist organisations designated by the United States, a legal label that restricts dealings with them. Justice Department published the charges in a press release on 10 November.
Iran has strongly denied any involvement in the RAF Fairford incident. These are allegations, and the three men have been charged rather than convicted.
