US suspects Iranian of coordinating attacks from prison — The National
In the United States, authorities suspect 32-year-old Iranian-Iraqi citizen Mohammad Baker Saad Dawood al-Saadi of attempting to coordinate new attacks from a federal detention center in New York. According to The National, US authorities believe he used coded messages in phone calls to recruit other people for new plots.
US Justice Department suspicions
According to US Department of Justice documents reported on by The Times, al-Saadi also allegedly directed transfers totaling $1 million and controlled the distribution of propaganda videos. Investigators pointed to a FaceTime video call with a woman believed to be his mother: during the conversation, he allegedly called for further attacks, according to authorities. A recording of this conversation was shared on social media, where it received nearly 100,000 views.
In one phone call, al-Saadi asked about a member of Kataib Hezbollah and “work” for a person whom the FBI considers an operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The FBI interrupted one of the conversations after weapons and money were mentioned. Justice Department documents state that officials fear he could involve third parties in planning or carrying out new attacks, including ones similar to attacks in Europe.
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Charges and the defense position
In May, al-Saadi was charged in New York with six terrorism-related counts. Prosecutors claim that he acted as an operative of the Iraqi paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The United States has placed both organizations on sanctions lists and designated them as terrorist organizations.
The investigation also links him to the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya group, also known as Ashab al-Yamin. The group has been linked to a series of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London and synagogues in Europe. According to prosecutors, the intended targets in the United States were a synagogue in New York and two Jewish institutions in Los Angeles and Scottsdale.
Al-Saadi was extradited to the United States from Turkey. He is being held without bail and is due to stand trial next summer. If convicted on the most serious charges, he faces life imprisonment. His defense calls the case political persecution and challenges the strict restrictions imposed during his detention, including near-total isolation and limits on contact with his family.
