Dubai: An alleged Iranian-linked militant commander used coded telephone calls from a New York federal prison to help direct a terrorist plot against a British airbase housing American B-1 bombers, according to a US indictment detailed by CNN.
The suspect, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi citizen associated with the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia, allegedly coordinated the operation while detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
The intended target was RAF Fairford in southwestern England, a strategic base used by American bombers during the US war with Iran.
CNN reported that the indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on Tuesday, names two alleged accomplices: Mohsen Mohajeri, described as an operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Mohammad Ali Al Hassani.
Vans disguised as delivery vehicles
According to prosecutors, the alleged conspirators planned to attack RAF Fairford using vans carrying fuel as improvised explosive devices.
The preparations reportedly began in August, when Al Hassani arranged surveillance of the base, including filming its perimeter, and organised the procurement of vehicles and fuel.
Investigators allege the suspects also researched chemical accelerants and obtained metal objects potentially usable as shrapnel.
The vans were disguised as fuel-delivery and swimming-pool supply vehicles.
On September 26, three vehicles approached RAF Fairford, with Al-Hassani allegedly maintaining contact with their drivers.
