US Charges Three Over Alleged Iran-Backed Plots Targeting US and Europe

The United States Department of Justice announced criminal charges against three Iran-backed operatives accused of participating in a series of plots across the United States and Europe. According to the department, Iranian agents orchestrated a plot at a British air force base where United States armed forces were stationed.

The indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, names Mohsen Mohajeri, Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, and Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi. One of the accused is a dual Iranian-Iraqi national, while the other two are accused of operating from Iran. Prosecutors state that the trio planned attacks in Europe under the pseudonym Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, also known as HAYI.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel stated that the eight-count indictment demonstrates Iran's determination to commit attacks in Europe and the United States. Patel alleged that the accused were involved in nearly twenty attempted attacks supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah. He added that one of the defendants allegedly transmitted coded messages to assist in future violence from inside a New York prison where he awaits trial on previous charges.

The Department of Justice statement indicated that HAYI claimed responsibility for eighteen terrorist attacks in Europe during the spring of 2026, seven of which occurred in the United Kingdom. These incidents involved arsons, explosives, and a near-fatal stabbing of two Jewish men in north London in April, for which a suspect is scheduled to stand trial next year.

The charges follow a declared major incident on September 27 near the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force Fairford base in Gloucestershire, after suspicious vans were reported near the facility. Armed police officers were subsequently stationed outside the base, and the United States removed all its bombers from the location last month.

Iran has strongly denied any involvement in the RAF Fairford incident. Meanwhile, UK authorities have arrested seven men in connection with that investigation.