The images that show how Iran terror suspect ‘plotted attacks on the UK’

Video stills released in an US indictment of a terror suspect from an Iran-backed militia allegedly show attacks on targets in London being carried out and directed on FaceTime.

Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, is accused of trying ⁠to pass coded ​messages while under arrest to ⁠two other alleged Iran-backed operatives, one of whom plotted to attack RAF Fairford, the US Justice Department has alleged.

Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, 35, is accused of having “orchestrated a terrorist plot at a Royal Air Force Base” housing US military and personnel, and of using his criminal connections in the UK to carry out terrorist attacks.

Armed police officers stand guard on a road outside the perimeter of the RAF Fairford airbase, after police declared a major incident at the base after several men were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act, in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Toby Shepheard

He and Mohsen Mohajeri, 48, an Iranian national accused of being an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operative, along with Al-Saadi, are accused of 18 attacks or attempted attacks across the US and Europe, including seven in London.

The attacks were purportedly claimed by a new terrorist group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Hayi).

But the indictment alleges the attacks were carried out on behalf of an Iran-backed terror network that included the IRGC and the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah. 

The indictment claims Al-Hassani and Mohajeri were allegedly in Iran at the time of the RAF Fairford plot while Al-Saadi coordinated the pair from a prison in New York.

A federal grand jury in New York has charged all three with terrorism-related offences.

‘Kill everyone who supports America and Israel’

Al-Saadi is accused of being a commander in Kata’ib Hizballah, acting alongside the IRGC and working with US-designated terrorist leaders, including Esmail Qaani, the commander of the IRGC-QF, and Naim Qassem, the Secretary General of Hezbollah. 

MOHAMMED BAQER SAAD DA WOOD AL-SAAD!, the defendant, has also sought to exact revenge for the killing of Soleimani and al-Muhandis by targeting and promoting the targeting of fo1mer and current U.S. officials. For example, in or about 2023, AL-SAAD I posted an image of the President of the United States with the shadow of a B-2 bomber hovering overhead, with the text of the post reading, "retribution must be exacted from the instigators and killers of Martyr Soleimani." The following year, in or about February 2024, AL-SAAD I was pictured in front of an array of machineguns in a conference room located in a building that AL?SAAD I identified was used for "military intelligence" for "the resistance" during an interview with U.S. law enforcement officials after he was anested on or about May 1, 2026. Photo : UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

It is alleged he repeatedly sought to incite violence against Americans and published calls for violence on his social media accounts, urging others to “kill everyone who supports America and Israel”.

He is seen in one photo taken in 2024 in front of machine guns in a building which, Al-Saadi told US investigators after his 2026 arrest, was used for “military intelligence” for “the resistance”.

A map of the US next to a list of “legitimate targets” has been redacted. Al-Saadi, who is currently in custody,  has pleaded not guilty to plotting at least 18 terror attacks across Europe.

London plot map

Around 6 April, 2026, Mohajeri and Al-Hassani allegedly planned attacks while together in a room in Iraq, with a map of London displayed on a computer screen. 

In a video obtained by US prosecutors, it is claimed Mohajeri told Al-Hassani, “we need to get focused on London.” 

An image of the video is included in the indictment, with Mohajeri on the right and Al-Hassani on the left. 

The Islamist group HAYI, which investigators have identified as a front for the IRGC, claimed responsibility for six terrorist attacks that occurred in and around London starting around a week later. 

The attacks include the firebombing of Hatzalah ambulances, synagogues, a Jewish charity organisation, and a purported attack on the Israeli embassy with two drones claimed to have been “loaded with dangerous carcinogenic and radioactive materials”, according to the legal documents. 

Media centre targeted

It’s claimed that Al-Hassani joined a video call with an individual committing an arson attack on a media organisation in London on 15 April.

According to the indictment, the HAYI logo was projected on Al-Hassani’s computer screen and he allegedly directed the individual to “go as close as you can to the gate and dash it and show me on the camera I’m recording”.

On or about April 15, 2026, AL-HASSAN! participated in a video call with an individual committing an arson attack on a media organization that took place in London the same day, with the HA YI logo projected on AL-HASSANI's computer screen. On the video call, AL-HASSAN! directed the individual to "Go as close as you can to the gate and dash it and show me on the camera I'm recording." An image from the video is below. Photo: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

It’s believed the attack was on the offices of a Persian media organisation in north-west London on 15 April.

Three people have admitted to being involved in an arson attack, with a 17-year-old boy due to go on trial next year.

Arson attack on Jewish charity

Around 17 April, the three suspects are accused of directing an individual to carry out an arson attack on a Jewish charity organisation in London-in real time. 

The three were in a room watching a FaceTime video with the individual who was carrying out the attack, which was projected onto a large screen against the background of the HAYI  logo, legal documents say.

The attack, on an educational charity called Jewish Futures in Hendon, north-west London, saw a man light a plastic bag containing bottles of fluid in the doorway of the building before running off.

Al-Hassani is accused of directing the perpetrators’ actions and ordering the individual to execute with a lighter and “light one in your hand,” “light it,” and “throw the fourth one.”

It is claimed Al-Saadi recorded the attack while Mohajeri recorded Al-Hassani and Al-Saadi, with a still image from the video showing Al-Saadi circled in red and Al-Hassani circled in green.

Around 17 April, the three suspects are accused of directing an individual to carry out an arson attack on a Jewish charity organisation in London-in real time. The three were in a room watching a Face Time video with the individual who was carrying out the attack, which was projected onto a large screen against the background of the HAYI logo, legal documents say. The attack, on an educational charity called Jewish Futures in Hendon, north London, saw a man light a plastic bag containing bottles of fluid in the doorway of the building before running off. Al-Hassani is accused of directing the perpetrators' actions and ordering the individual to execute with a lighter and "light one in your hand," "light it," and "throw the fourth one." It is claimed Al-Saadi recorded the attack while Mohajeri recorded Al-Hassani and Al-Saadi, with a still image from the video showing Al-Saadi circled in red and Al-Hassani circled in green. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

‘Light it up like a Christmas tree’

The following day, around 18 April, Al-Hassani took part in another video with an individual carrying out an attack on a synagogue in London, it is alleged.

It is claimed he directed the individual to “light it up like a Christmas tree” before the attacker lit an improvised explosive device and threw it at the Kenton United Synagogue in north-west London.

An image from the video shows the individual running away.

Around 17 April, the three suspects are accused of directing an individual to carry out an arson attack on a Jewish charity organisation in London-in real time. The three were in a room watching a Face Time video with the individual who was carrying out the attack, which was projected onto a large screen against the background of the HAYI logo, legal documents say. The attack, on an educational charity called Jewish Futures in Hendon, north London, saw a man light a plastic bag containing bottles of fluid in the doorway of the building before running off. Al-Hassani is accused of directing the perpetrators' actions and ordering the individual to execute with a lighter and "light one in your hand," "light it," and "throw the fourth one." It is claimed Al-Saadi recorded the attack while Mohajeri recorded Al-Hassani and Al-Saadi, with a still image from the video showing Al-Saadi circled in red and Al-Hassani circled in green. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

When two men from London appeared in court last month charged under the National Security Act over an alleged plot to target RAF Fairford, the court heard one was accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service, by acting as an “intermediary” for an Iranian handler known only as Ali.

Ali was identified in the indictment as Al-Hassani, who, it is alleged, paid an unnamed individual to “perform pre-operational surveillance of RAF Fairford’s perimeter” and “tasked and paid several individuals to help him prepare for the plot”.

According to the US indictment, Al-Saadi had referred to Al-Hassani as “Ali”, whom he told his family had been transferred to the “International Section.”

Al-Saadi instructed his family to “give him [Al-Hassani] money so we can do it”, it is alleged.

Three days later, prosecutors say, Al-Hassani orchestrated the RAF Fairford terror plot.

Original source The images that show how Iran terror suspect ‘plotted attacks on the UK’

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