U.S. prosecutors say three men helped plan an attack on RAF Fairford, a British air base that housed U.S. personnel and aircraft, after an eight-count superseding indictment was unsealed Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The Justice Department identified the defendants as Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammed Ali Al-Hassani. Prosecutors allege the men worked with an Iran-backed network they associate with almost 20 attacks or planned attacks in Europe and the United States.
Al-Saadi was already in U.S. custody, according to prosecutors. They allege he used calls with relatives in Iraq to send coded communications to Mohajeri and Al-Hassani ahead of the Fairford operation.
The indictment says Al-Hassani paid one person to survey the base perimeter. Prosecutors also allege he paid others to help prepare the operation, including by obtaining vans and fuel. He then directed people to drive three vans toward Fairford on Sept. 26, according to the filing.
British police arrested five men near the base early Sept. 27. They reported finding petrol in the vehicles but no improvised explosive devices. British authorities charged two men in October under the National Security Act as part of their investigation. Counter Terrorism Policing said it believes the activity was carried out for a foreign intelligence service.
Iran’s embassy in London said in a Sept. 28 statement that it rejected attempts to link Iran to the Sept. 27 arrests. The U.S. charges are allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent.
