NEW YORK (AP) — Three men, including one already jailed in the United States, were accused by U.S. authorities Tuesday of being Iran-supported operatives who plotted nearly 20 attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the U.S. as well as a planned assault on a British airbase used by the U.S. Air Force.
Charges against Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, were outlined in a superseding indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. Only al-Saadi is in custody.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald in New York said in a news release that al-Saadi, who was arrested in the spring, continued to coordinate with his co-defendants in the days leading up to the attempted September terrorist plot at a British Royal Air Force Base in Fairford, United Kingdom, where U.S. bombers and troops had been stationed.
“These defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organizations affiliated with Iran that targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, and the British military base, RAF Fairford, housing American service members,” McDonald said. "The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical — it is very real.”
Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “Anyone who plans a terrorist plot on a military base housing American servicemembers will be prosecuted by the United States government.”
The new indictment offers fresh insight into an episode that has been shrouded in mystery for more than a month after five men were detained after midnight on Sept. 27 on suspected explosives and terrorism offenses after three suspicious vans were spotted traveling toward the base in western England.
A sixth suspect, a British-Iranian dual national, was arrested several days later. All the men were released on bail.
British authorities linked the incident to Tehran, and though Iran denied involvement, the arrests prompted the U.S. to withdraw its bombers that had been stationed there. The bombers were redeployed to their home bases in the United States.
RAF Fairford, located 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of London, has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East.
According to the indictment, al-Saadi used coded language in communications with relatives from jail to direct that money be passed along to others who could carry out attacks.
The indictment alleged that the three men conspired together to use a network of contacts in the United Kingdom to commit terrorist attacks on behalf of an Iran-aligned terrorist network, which included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hizballah.
In June, al-Saadi pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted at least 18 attacks in Europe in retaliation for the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran. He called himself a “prisoner of war.” He has been held without bail since. His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday on the latest development.
Both Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been designated by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations. U.S. prosecutors say Al-Saadi was a Kata’ib Hizballah commander.
Tucker reported from Washington.
FILE - A B1 bomber prepares to take off as police officers guard a checkpoint near RAF Fairford air base, in Fairford, England, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans reelected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as leader of the GOP conference after a tense day of discussions about steep losses in the midterm elections that cost them their majority.
Thune was always expected to prevail, as he is popular with his GOP colleagues and was running unopposed in the secret ballot election. But Senate Republicans vented their frustrations in three separate meetings on Tuesday after an election wipeout that cost them at least seven Senate seats.
Some Republicans had tried to delay the leadership decision, but the conference voted to proceed, said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who had pushed to postpone. He walked out of the room as the voting began.
West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice said after the first meeting that “we want to be thoughtful and do the right thing."
Justice said there was a "legitimate argument that, good gracious, if we lost as badly as we lost, why would we continue on with the same leadership?”
At the same time, the current GOP leadership “didn't cause this problem to happen,” Justice said. “They do a good job.”
The angst — and the indecision — comes as frustrated Republicans are just beginning to reckon with what the election results mean for their future. Two additional Senate races remain uncalled in Alaska and Mississippi that could further deplete their numbers.
Several senators had already called on Republican leadership to delay the elections, which include contests for other party leaders as well and are held in the small Old Senate Chamber.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said he isn't aware of anyone else running for leader, but “maybe there would be” if they waited.
“I just think that we’ve got a lot of things that we’ve got to think through, and I think that to just rush into this and just ratify all of the same leadership, what message does that send?” Hawley told reporters after walking out.
“If you don’t think after losing seven Senate seats minimum that we need to change course, I don’t know what planet you’re on,” he said.
Thune, who replaced Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as leader in early 2025, said before the meeting that they would have a “very fulsome, robust conversation about where we go from here and then we’ll see what the consensus of the conference is.”
Hawley said the discussion was a “frank” and “honest” open microphone meeting and some senators discussed their own races this year — some who won, and some who lost.
Republicans in the meeting were also pushing Thune to stay in session around the clock in the coming weeks to push through war spending and other party priorities before they lose power.
“We need a plan to get the Republican agenda done,” said Florida Sen. Rick Scott.
Before the meeting, Johnson, the Wisconsin senator, had circulated a letter asking for the delay. He said the conference needs to do some “real soul-searching” but conceded that there's no one else on the ballot.
“That's part of our problem, who would want the job?” he said, turning to a reporter and joking, “Do you want it?”
Oklahoma Sen. Jim Lankford said that there is “widespread support” among Republican senators for Thune, who has made it a point to hear out different viewpoints before he makes major decisions and has maintained close relationships with the rank and file — a different approach from his predecessor, McConnell.
Lankford said he supported having the elections on Tuesday because many of the new GOP senators are already in town for freshman orientation.
“It’s a pretty complicated role to be able to manage,” Lankford said of Thune's leadership post. “No one wants that job.”
Walking into the meeting, South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said most senators are ready to move forward. It is time to have “leadership in place,” he said.
Thune has spent much of the last two years navigating President Donald Trump, who has often been at odds with the Senate.
While backing Trump on most policies, Thune has refused to change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster to pass voting legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters — a position that frustrated Trump and enraged some in the president's political base.
But Trump hosted Thune and his family at the White House in October. He said Monday that the GOP leader is “a very fine man.” The election is “up to the Senate,” Trump said.
The soul-searching comes as lawmakers are trying to wrap up the year’s work — funding the government and seeing if there are some issues where they can work together, including an energy permitting bill that moved forward on a bipartisan vote Monday evening.
When he gets the chance to speak at the meeting, Thune is expected to emphasize his collaborative approach to his colleagues and point out what they did get done in the last year — including the tax and spending cuts legislation and an attempt at reining in the chaotic annual spending process.
In a Senate floor speech Monday, his first extended remarks since the election, Thune said the midterm election was a “tough night” and previewed his pitch to his colleagues who may be looking for answers on how they will navigate the minority.
Republicans will be willing to work with Democrats, Thune said, but “the American people are not looking for socialist government and leftist fantasies.”
Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks to reporters as members of the Republican Conference arrive to elect their leadership following the sweeping victory by Democrats in the midterm elections, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and members of the Republican Conference arrive to elect their leadership following the sweeping victory by Democrats in the midterm elections, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and members of the Republican Conference arrive to elect their leadership following the sweeping victory by Democrats in the midterm elections, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Supreme Court is seen through a car window that is reflecting the U.S. Capitol dome, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, poses for a photograph in his office with Sen.-elects Abdul El-Sayed, D-Mich., Josh Turek, D-Iowa, Roy Cooper, D-N.C., Juliana Stratton, D-Ill., and Chris Pappas, D-N.H., Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., heads to an intelligence briefing in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol with the director of national intelligence and other congressional leaders, as Congress returns to work following the midterm elections, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
