'Mastermind' of RAF Fairford terror plot 'directed other attacks from his US cell while on FaceTime', US prosecutors say

The suspected mastermind of the RAF Fairford terror plot directed other attacks it's claimed he was involved in from behind bars in the US, prosecutors have said.

Mohammad al-Saadi, 32, was extradited to the US in May over charges linking him to 20 attempted terror attacks across the US and Europe, including antisemitic fire-bombings in London.

The US Department of Justice said that two other men Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, who are both in Iran, worked with al-Saadi on the Fairford plot and a wave of other attacks.

An eight-count indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday claimed that while jailed in New York, al-Saadi passed 'coded messages' to Al-Hassani and Mohajeri to coordinate ahead of the plot.

It's claimed he used the coded language in phone and FaceTime calls to his mother and sister in Iraq to pass messages to his associates to carry out the air base bombing. 

US prosecutors said that while speaking to his family from the Brooklyn jail, al-Saadi told them he owed money to Mohajeri and directed them to pass messages to him about 'work,' a term al-Saadi used to describe terrorist activity.

'What are they doing about all our old work?' al-Saadi asked his sister on a July 30 call, according to the indictment. 

It said he asked her whether it had been cancelled or just put on pause, to which she responded that 'it isn't cancelled.' 

Mohammad al-Saadi, 32, was extradited to the US in May over charges linking him to 20 attempted terror attacks across the US and Europe, including antisemitic fire-bombings in London.

Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammed Ali al-Hassani are also accused of terrorist attacks. Pictured together looking at what at what appears to be a map of London

Mr Saadi (circled in red) and Mr Hassani (circled in green), apperaing to direct and film a terrorist attack in Europe

On a September 24 call, al-Saadi asked about al-Hassani, whom he was told had been transferred to the 'International Section,' and instructed his family to 'give him money so we can do it,' it said.

Al-Saadi was permitted phone and video calls with his family, but each call was monitored and recorded by the FBI, according to court filings.

In September, al-Saadi's lawyer complained that some of his calls were repeatedly interrupted and cut off without explanation. 

Citing concerns that he was using coded language, including 'work' and 'a job,' the government later said it was limiting him just to a single hourlong call each month.

Still, from June through September, al-Saadi participated in nine phone or video teleconference calls from jail, according to a court filing by prosecutors. 

In one, al-Saadi's mother told him to stop talking about a topic because 'they may end the call,' according to a court filing that said the FBI then terminated the call.

The indictment said that in April al-Saadi, al-Hassani and Mohajeri directed an individual to carry out an arson attack on a Jewish charity organisation in London in real time as they watched it on video that was projected from a laptop computer onto a large screen. 

The next day, they directed another attack on a synagogue in London, with al-Hassani directing the individual to 'light it up like a Christmas tree,' the indictment said. 

The three men have been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorist groups Kataeb Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, conspiring and providing material support for acts of terrorism, and conspiring to bomb a place of public use.

Al-Saadi is additionally charged with attempted acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, and attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosive.  

An image from a FaceTime call of an attack on a London synagogue

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, right, with Qasem Soleimani, former commander of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, accused of planning an attack on a synagogue, appears in federal court in Manhattan in May

'These defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organizations affiliated with Iran that targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, and the British military base, RAF Fairford, housing American service members,' said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. 

'The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical - it is very real.'

In June, al-Saadi pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted at least 18 attacks in Europe in retaliation for the US and Israel's war with Iran.    

Alleged attacks include the non-fatal stabbing of two Jewish men in London in April, as well as several arson attacks on synagogues, Israeli businesses and Jewish schools in Amsterdam, Munich and elsewhere.  

He called himself a 'prisoner of war' and has been held without bail since.

Both Kataeb Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been designated by the US government as foreign terrorist organizations. 

US prosecutors say Al-Saadi was a Kataeb Hezbollah commander.

The latest indictment adds al-Saadi's apparent role in the RAF Fairford incident, as well as the alleged involvement of al-Hassani and Mohajeri. Prosecutors did not disclose their whereabouts. 

Police were called to the Fairford site in southwest England after a local farmer reported seeing a group of men with several white vans engaged in 'suspicious' activity.

Days after the incident, the United States withdrew all its B-1 bombers from the base.  

Five British nationals, all in their mid-20s, were arrested on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences and sixth suspect, a British-Iranian dual national, was arrested several days later. 

All the men were released on bail. 

Last month, police charged two of the men with national security offenses related to the RAF Fairford incident.

One was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, believed to be in Iran, and another with entering a prohibited place for a purpose 'prejudicial' to the UK.

After the incident, Gloucestershire Police said it had received a call about 'three suspicious vehicles' travelling towards RAF Fairford in the early hours of the morning.

A bomb disposal team was deployed to the area to investigate a number of vehicles, police said previously.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham previously said the UK government believes Iran 'played a part' in the incident.

Flight-tracking data showed on Tuesday that the US military had removed at least a dozen aircraft from a second British airbase, RAF Mildenhall, following what the Wall Street Journal said was a threat from Iran.