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The US Department of Justice announced it has indicted three Iran-backed agents. They are alleged to have been involved in a number of conspiracies in the US and Europe.
The Justice Department said Iranian agents most recently “conducted a terrorist plot at an air force base in the United Kingdom,” noting that they were involved in a serious incident that occurred in September at Royal Air Force Base Fairford in the United Kingdom, where U.S. forces were stationed.
One of the men, a dual citizen of Iran and Iraq, is accused of maintaining contacts with contacts in the UK from prison in New York, where he is awaiting trial on previous charges. Two others are accused of doing the same from Iran.
Tehran has categorically denied any involvement in the incident at the Fairford base, where suspicious vans containing petrol cans were discovered in September. Seven people were arrested in the UK in connection with this incident.
The indictment names Iranian Mohsen Mohajeri, Iraqi citizen Mohammad Ali al-Hassani and Iranian-Iraqi citizen Mohammad Bagher Saad Dawud al-Saadi in the indictment, the US Department of Justice said.
All three are charged with planning terrorist attacks in Europe, which were carried out allegedly on behalf of a new group under the pseudonym “Harakat Ashab al-Yameen al-Islamiya” (“Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand” - HAYI).
“Of the 18 terrorist attacks in Europe claimed by HAYI in the spring of 2026, seven occurred in the UK,” the Ministry of Justice said in a statement. It also notes that the attacks included "arson, bombings and, in one case, a knife attack in London that nearly led to the deaths of two Jews, including a dual US-British citizen."
In April, two Jews were wounded in a knife attack in Golders Green, north London. The trial of the suspect is scheduled to take place next year.
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“This eight-count indictment demonstrates Iran's determination to carry out terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.
He added that one of the three accused "allegedly sent encrypted messages to facilitate future acts of violence" from custody.
Patel said the defendants were involved in nearly 20 attempted attacks in support of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.
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The Ministry of Justice said in August that al-Hassani "allegedly directed and paid for the activities of his associates" in the UK to "conduct preparatory activities and organize logistics for a terrorist plot at RAF Fairford."
On Aug. 22, al-Hassani paid one person to “conduct preliminary surveillance of the Fairford base perimeter,” the ministry said.
In September, al-Hassani paid several people to help plot the plot, the Justice Department also alleged.
According to the US Department of Justice, this included "purchasing vans and drums of fuel, seeking opportunities to purchase chemical combustion accelerators, including large quantities of potassium chloride, and purchasing metal objects that could be used as shrapnel."
The suspects then made the vans look like vehicles used by a fuel delivery company and a swimming pool supply company, the Justice Department said.
“On 26 September, al-Hassani allegedly instructed several individuals to deliver three vans, some of which were later found to contain drums of fuel, to the Fairford base.”
Al-Hassani "maintained constant contact" with the van drivers and helped them determine their route.
“At least two of the three vans encountered security checkpoints while en route to the Fairford base perimeter and were not cleared to continue along their intended route,” the statement said.
On the night of September 27, the vans were spotted by a local farmer returning home from a party and called the police.
The Iranian embassy in London said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" the "baseless and malicious speculation" linking Iran to the incident.
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Eight men have been arrested as part of an investigation by British counter-terrorism police into the incident at Fairford. They include five British nationals from London who were arrested near the air base in September on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act and were later rearrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack. Six men have been released on bail.
Two British citizens appeared in court on charges in connection with the case in October. One of them is suspected of assisting the Iranian intelligence service.
After the incident in September, the US withdrew its bombers from the base and returned them to America. US President Donald Trump said the planes were withdrawn due to "some threats" to the base, without giving specific details.
The US Air Force has used Fairford for decades. In recent months, the United States has sent B-1 and B-52 bombers from there to the Middle East to launch “defensive” strikes against Iran.
Iran said in July that "any base used for aggression against Iranian territory is a legitimate target for our armed forces."
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