US charges 3 men over alleged Iranian-backed plot at UK Fairford air base

The men, including one who is already in prison, face ‘terrorism’ charges over alleged plot at UK air base used in US war on Iran. The Department of Justice said on Tuesday that the three men acted in support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah. It identified the men as Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, and said they face “terrorism-related offenses”.

The charges announced on Tuesday centre on RAF Fairford in southwest England, where US forces and bombers had been stationed. The US had used the base to deploy bombers in its war against Iran. Police were called to the Fairford site in September after a local farmer reported seeing a group of men with several white vans engaged in “suspicious” activity.

Seven men were arrested in connection with the episode, and all were released on bail. Two were subsequently re-arrested on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service and charged under the National Security Act.