US charges three 'Iranian operatives' over RAF Fairford terror plot

The US Justice Department on Tuesday announced charges against three men it described as "Iranian operatives," including one already in jail, over their role in an alleged terrorist plot at Britain's RAF Fairford airbase.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani allegedly helped plan and direct the September incident at the base, which has been used by the US military in its operations against Iran.

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.

A US charging document states that Al-Hassani, a 35-year-old Iraqi national, directed unnamed individuals to drive to the base in the vans, some of which contained barrels of fuel.

It claims that he earlier paid the group to buy metallic objects that could be used as shrapnel, and to disguise the vehicles as being engaged in fuel delivery services. 

Al-Saadi, 32, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national already jailed in New York on terrorism charges, allegedly passed coded messages to Al-Hassani and Mohajeri, 48, an Iranian national, to coordinate ahead of the plot.

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

"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 in a statement Tuesday.

The trio were charged in an eight-count indictment that alleges their involvement in several other plots in support of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and pro-Iranian group Kataeb Hezbollah.

Read moreUS withdraws B-1 bombers from British military base RAF Fairford amid security concerns

Terrorist attacks 

US authorities first detailed charges in May against Al-Saadi, accusing him of directing and urging others to attack US and Israeli interests, and to kill Americans and Jews, in retaliation for the US-Israeli war against Iran.

He and associates were said to have planned, coordinated and claimed responsibility for at least 18 terrorist attacks in Europe, and two in Canada.

Examples included 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.

Al-Saadi has been in US custody since May.

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

The three men are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorist groups Kataeb Hezbollah and the IRGC, 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.

UK police last month charged two British 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.

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.