US Charges 3 in Alleged Iran-Backed Plot Against UK Air Base
The Facts
- An eight-count U.S. indictment unsealed Tuesday charged Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, Mohsen Mohajeri, 48, and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, 35, with terrorism offenses linked to nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the U.S., including a September security incident at the U.K.'s Fairford airbase.
- Prosecutors say Iraqi-Iranian al-Saadi, jailed in New York since May, passed coded messages to co-defendants in calls with relatives in Iraq. His lawyers said in an October filing that the coded-language claim was speculative and relied on questionable translations.
- Court filings allege al-Hassani paid a contact on Aug. 22 to film RAF Fairford's perimeter and in September paid for vans, barrels of fuel and metallic objects that could serve as shrapnel, with decals disguising the vans as commercial vehicles.
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The Spin
Anti-Iran narrative
Iran's proxies have been running a real campaign of arson, bombings and stabbings across Europe and the U.S., and shrugging that off would be reckless. Directing a plot from inside a federal jail cell demonstrates just how brazen this network has gotten. Relentless prosecution and disruption are the only things that keep American troops and allies safe.
Pro-Iran narrative
Pinning every unexplained security scare on Tehran without showing the public a shred of evidence is how countries get talked into another war. Arrests and anonymous official leaks are not proof, and the burden sits with the accusers. Rushing to blame Iran serves the appetite for escalation far more than it serves actual security.
Narrative C
The withdrawal of American aircraft from two British bases raises questions about whether the U.K. remains a safe haven for U.S. forces as tensions with Iran persist. With security raised at Mildenhall and Lakenheath, and Washington relocating assets following reported Iranian threats, Britain may increasingly find itself exposed to a conflict it has not directly joined.
