# US charges Iranian operative over RAF Fairford plot

> Mohammad Dawood al-Saadi allegedly coordinated an attack on a British air base housing American bombers while imprisoned in New York.
- Title: US charges Iranian operative over RAF Fairford plot | Shortify
- Summary: Mohammad Dawood al-Saadi allegedly coordinated an attack on a British air base housing American bombers while imprisoned in New York.
- Keywords: breaking, mohammad dawood al-saadi, raf fairford, iran, islamic revolutionary guard corps, kata'ib hezbollah, us prosecutors, terrorism plot, the Guardian
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/10/prosecutors-charge-iranian-operative-uk-air-force-attack
- Published: 2026-11-10T21:57:57+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: breaking, mohammad dawood al-saadi, raf fairford, iran, islamic revolutionary guard corps, kata'ib hezbollah, us prosecutors, terrorism plot, news, world
## Iranian operative charged from prison
US federal prosecutors charged Mohammad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian and Iraqi national jailed in New York, with plotting an attack on RAF Fairford, a British air force base where American B-1 bombers are stationed.
## Coded messages from custody
While imprisoned, al-Saadi allegedly used coded messages in calls to his family to transmit attack plans to Mohsen Mohajeri, an operative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, another Iranian.
## Attack preparations alleged
Al-Hassani tasked others with surveilling RAF Fairford and procuring vans and barrels of fuel, and researching chemical accelerants and metallic objects to be used as shrapnel, the indictment claimed.
## Five arrested near the base
Five men from London were arrested in the village of Whelford, near RAF Fairford, on twenty-seventh September on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences after a farmer reported vans blocking a road near the base.
## Retaliation for US war, prosecutors say
Al-Saadi, associated with Kata'ib Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, planned the attack as retribution for the US war in Iran.
## Key takeaway

US prosecutors charged an Iranian operative jailed in New York with plotting an attack on RAF Fairford, a British base hosting American B-1 bombers, using coded family calls to direct co-conspirators.