US Justice Department: Iran-backed group member helped plan attack on UK air base while in prison

The US Justice Department revealed on Tuesday that a member of an Iran-backed group had attempted to stage an attack on the RAF Fairford air base in Britain while incarcerated in the United States on various criminal charges. The accused, Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, allegedly communicated coded messages to two other suspected Iran-backed operatives via phone calls to his immediate family members from his New York prison cell, according to prosecutors.

Al-Saadi had previously pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to Kataib Hezbollah, a group the United States classifies as a terrorist organization. Al-Saadi's legal team declined to comment immediately on the allegations. In a court filing on October 14, Al-Saadi's legal representatives disputed the prosecution's claim that the coded language used during phone calls with family members was significant, suggesting that the conversations could be explained through mundane circumstances.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham had stated in October that a suspected plot targeting the RAF Fairford air base, which the United States used to conduct airstrikes on Iran, was highly likely to have been orchestrated in Iran. Iran has firmly denied any involvement in the alleged plot.