US charges Al-Saadi over plot to attack RAF Fairford airbase in UK

The US Justice Department indicted Muhammad al-Saadi, an Iranian-Iraqi militia operative, for planning an attack on US forces at RAF Fairford in the UK. The indictment also covers attacks against Jews in Europe and the US.

An indictment was filed in the United States against Muhammad al-Saadi, a militia operative in Iraq with Iranian and Iraqi citizenship, for planning an attempted attack against American forces at RAF Fairford airbase in Britain. According to a report in the New York Post, al-Saadi transmitted 'coded messages' to two operatives in Iran via phone calls he made from a federal prison. He was extradited to the United States in May 2026 and has been in custody since. At the end of September, five people were arrested in Britain on suspicion of attempting to detonate a car bomb near the base, which is used by the US military. The base housed American forces and heavy bombers, and US strikes against Iran were launched from it. Britain later believed the five were acting under Iranian direction. Just last night, the US evacuated refueling aircraft from another base in Britain due to an Iranian threat, and last month a B-1 bomber was evacuated from Fairford base following intelligence about an Iranian plot to harm American pilots.