Three Charged in US Over Alleged Iran-Linked Plot to Attack RAF Fairford

Updated 11 Nov 2026, 08:22 · First published 11 Nov 2026

Three men have been charged in the United States over an alleged plot linked to Iran to attack RAF Fairford, the air base in Gloucestershire used by American bombers.

According to the indictment, vans loaded with fuel barrels and metal objects intended as shrapnel were sent towards the base in September. They were stopped at a security checkpoint, and police arrested the people inside in the early hours of the next morning.

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Who has been charged?

The three men named in the indictment are Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national. The charges relate to support for Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, both of which the US lists as terrorist organisations.

Prosecutors say al-Saadi, who is already being held on separate terrorism charges in New York, used go-betweens to pass coded messages to the other two men from his prison cell.

What is the alleged plot?

Prosecutors allege al-Hassani organised the plot and directed associates based in the UK. They say he paid someone to carry out “pre-operational surveillance” of the base’s perimeter on 22 August.

In September, the associates are accused of getting hold of vans and fuel barrels, researching chemical accelerants and buying metal objects to use as shrapnel. The vans were allegedly made to look like vehicles from a fuel delivery company and a pool maintenance business.

On 26 September, three vans were allegedly sent towards RAF Fairford. At least two were stopped at a security checkpoint.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the indictment shows “the determination of Iran to commit terrorist attacks”.

What happened in the UK?

Five men were arrested outside RAF Fairford in September, and two other people were later arrested on suspicion of helping Iranian intelligence. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last month that the activity at Fairford was “likely to have been coordinated in Iran”. Iran has denied involvement.

The charges come days after the US moved refuelling tankers away from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk over what was described as a threat from Iran, and after American B-1 bombers were earlier taken out of Fairford. These are allegations, and none of the men has been convicted.

Photo: Fotosr52 / Shutterstock (illustrative)