Three Iranians charged in the US over attacks in Europe
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Le Monde and L’essentiel
The US Department of Justice has charged three men described as Iranian agents over several attacks and attempted attacks, mainly in Europe, including a plot to attack Fairford air base in England, according to Le Monde. The incident dates back to 27 September, when British police found three suspicious vehicles near the site.
The three men are named in an eight-count indictment announced on Tuesday by the US Department of Justice. They are Mohammed Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi (32), already imprisoned in the United States and described as a leader of the Kataib Hezbollah, a pro-Tehran Iraqi armed group, Mohsen Mohajeri, a 48-year-old Iranian, and Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani, a 35-year-old Iraqi. The authorities do not say where the last two are. They are also implicated in other attacks or planned attacks on behalf of the Revolutionary Guards and the Kataib Hezbollah.
According to the prosecution, Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani organised the logistics of the attack on the Fairford base: he allegedly paid several people, obtained vans and fuel drums, sought to buy chemicals that accelerate combustion, including potassium chloride, as well as metal objects that could serve as fragments projected during an explosion. On 26 September, he allegedly instructed several individuals to drive these vehicles to the base, staying in frequent contact with them. Al-Saadi allegedly communicated with the other two from detention, through "coded messages" during calls with relatives in Iraq.
On 27 September, British police intervened near the base, which is used by the United States to carry out attacks on Iran, after three suspicious vehicles were reported. They found no explosive device there, but a large quantity of petrol. Several suspects were arrested and then released on bail. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham had said the incident was "almost certainly directed" by Iran, and the United States subsequently withdrew its B-1 bombers from the base.
Al-Saadi was arrested and charged in May for planning and claiming responsibility for at least 18 attacks in Europe and two in Canada, in retaliation for the US-Israeli offensive against Iran launched on 28 February. One of them targeted two Jewish men, stabbed in London in late April. "Anyone who plots an attack on a military base housing American soldiers will be prosecuted by the United States," said Attorney General Todd Blanche.
