US charges 3 alleged Iran-backed operatives over UK air base plot

The Fairford plot, as alleged: Prosecutors say al-Hassani paid a contact in Britain on Aug. 22 to film the perimeter of RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base where U.S. aircraft and personnel were stationed. In September, they say, he paid others to buy vans and barrels of fuel, research chemical accelerants and buy metal objects that could serve as shrapnel. Decals made the vans look like a fuel delivery and a pool supply business. On Sept. 26, he allegedly directed three vans toward the base; at least two were turned back at a security roadblock. British police recovered the vans and arrested the occupants early on Sept. 27.

From the filing: Prosecutors say al-Saadi helped from a New York jail, where he awaits trial on earlier terrorism charges, by passing coded messages through calls with relatives in Iraq. In a summer call, they say, he asked his sister, "What are they doing about all our old work?" She answered, "it isn't cancelled." On Sept. 24, three days before the arrests, he allegedly told relatives to "give him money so we can do it," referring to al-Hassani.

The wider case: Al-Saadi was first charged in May over about 18 attacks in Europe this spring and an attempt to bomb a synagogue in Manhattan. He pleaded not guilty in June, NBC reported. The Justice Department says seven of the European attacks were in Britain and included arson, explosives and the near-fatal stabbing in London of two Jewish men, one a dual U.S.-British citizen. A front group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya claimed them, the department said.

In their words: "Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American servicemembers will be prosecuted by the United States government," Attorney General Todd Blanche said. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the threat from Iran-backed groups "is not hypothetical — it is very real." The Justice Department's release says the indictment "is merely an allegation" and that all three are presumed innocent.

What's still unknown: Whether the United States can bring Mohajeri and al-Hassani to court, since prosecutors say both were in Iran during the plot. How the British case fits in is also unclear; British prosecutors separately charged two men under the National Security Act, Fox News reported. No defense response had been made public.

Everything about the defendants' roles comes from the Justice Department's superseding indictment and news release, which the department notes is an allegation only. All three defendants are presumed innocent. US Brief found no public response from lawyers for the defendants.