US indictment links Iranian-backed group to Fairford arrests and London arsons

A US indictment says Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi continued directing attacks in Britain from a New York jail, using coded messages to associates believed to be in Iran. It identifies Mohammed Ali al-Hassani as the handler behind the September incident near RAF Fairford, linking the arrests there to a wider campaign attributed to the Iran-backed group Hayi.

The indictment also alleges that al-Saadi, al-Hassani and another associate, Mohsen Mohajeri, coordinated six attacks in London in March and April against synagogues and other Jewish community sites. In one alleged arson attack on a Jewish educational charity in Hendon on 17 April, prosecutors say the three directed the perpetrator over a video call. Two Britons have been charged in the UK over the Fairford incident and are awaiting trial; they have not yet entered pleas.