Overview
- A federal grand jury in New York unsealed an eight‑count superseding indictment on Nov. 10 charging Mohammad Ali al‑Hassani, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al‑Saadi with terrorism offences tied to an alleged 18‑attack campaign across the US and Europe.
- The indictment alleges al‑Hassani directed and paid UK-based associates from overseas to carry out pre‑operational surveillance of RAF Fairford, procure vans, barrels of fuel, chemical accelerants such as potassium chloride, and metallic objects to be used as shrapnel.
- Prosecutors released images and video stills they say show suspects giving live instructions over FaceTime during attacks in London, including an alleged direction to "light it up like a Christmas tree," and say al‑Saadi smuggled coded messages from a US prison to coordinate plots.
- UK authorities have separately charged two men under the National Security Act over the Fairford incident and last month reportedly revoked al‑Hassani’s British citizenship, a development the Home Office declined to discuss because legal proceedings are ongoing.
- The case prompted temporary US force‑protection moves at RAF Fairford and highlights diplomatic and security risks from alleged Iran‑backed proxy activity, with investigators converting intelligence into court evidence and trials and further prosecutions likely to follow.