The unsealed eight-count indictment charges Mohsen Mohajeri, Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, and Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi with acting on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kataib Hezbollah. Operating under a front group called HAYI, the network claimed credit for 18 European attacks in spring 2026, which included London stabbings alongside various arsons and bombings. Their operations peaked in September with an attempt to strike RAF Fairford using disguised commercial vans laden with fuel and shrapnel. While Iranian officials dismissed the charges as groundless, the escalating security risks forced the United States to withdraw its deployed bombers from the base.
Key points
U.S. federal prosecutors uncovered an operational terror nexus linking Iranian handlers d…: U.S. federal prosecutors uncovered an operational terror nexus linking Iranian handlers directly to an incarcerated operative in New York.
The foiled September vehicle plot against RAF Fairford directly prompted the United State…: The foiled September vehicle plot against RAF Fairford directly prompted the United States to withdraw its bombers from the facility.
Tehran maintains that allegations connecting the Iranian state to the foiled European and…: Tehran maintains that allegations connecting the Iranian state to the foiled European and American attack plots are entirely unfounded.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
- Published
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced charges against three Iran-backed operatives that it alleges were involved in a string of plots in the US and Europe.
The DOJ said Iranian agents most recently "orchestrated a terrorist plot at an air force base in the United Kingdom", saying they were involved in the major incident in September near RAF Fairford in the UK, where US armed forces were stationed.
One man, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national, is accused of communicating with contacts in the UK from a prison in New York where he is awaiting trial on previous charges. The other two are accused of doing the same from Iran.
Iran has strongly denied any involvement in the RAF Fairford incident, which came to light when suspicious vans were reported near the base. Seven men have been arrested in the UK over the incident.
Iranian Mohsen Mohajeri, Iraqi national Mohammad Ali al-Hassani and dual Iranian-Iraqi citizen Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi were charged in an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, the DOJ said.
Heightened security concerns have prompted protective relocations for senior American leadership as tensions with Tehran escalate. The protective measures follow intelligence assessments indicating that hostile foreign operations against government officials have progressed significantly. The situation underscores the severe personal risks facing high-ranking cabinet members amidst ongoing geopolitical friction.
Federal prosecutors linked the three operatives to nearly 20 international attacks and attempted operations supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kataib Hezbollah. The foiled conspiracy prompted the United States military to withdraw all of its B-1 bombers from the British installation to protect strategic assets. One of the dual-national defendants remains in federal custody in New York facing prior terrorism-related charges, while the locations of his two co-conspirators have not been publicly rev…
Congressional lawmakers halted an effort to remove United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth from his cabinet post. The challenge was mounted over a series of controversial foreign military operations and interventions executed under his leadership. The legislative intervention successfully shields the defense chief from formal removal proceedings tied to these contentious global actions.