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The US Department of Justice announced charges against three people linked to Iran, who it said were involved in a series of plans to carry out attacks in the United States and Europe.
The ministry said that Iranian agents "recently planned a terrorist plot that targeted an air base in the United Kingdom," noting their involvement in the major security incident that occurred in September near the Fairford base of the British Royal Air Force, where American forces are stationed.
One of the men, who holds dual Iranian and Iraqi citizenship, is accused of communicating with people in the United Kingdom from inside a prison in New York, where he is awaiting trial on previous charges, while the other two defendants are suspected of doing the same thing from inside Iran.
Iran has strongly denied any connection to the Fairford base incident, which was revealed after suspicious pickup trucks were reported near the base, and seven men were arrested in the United Kingdom in connection with the incident.
The US Department of Justice announced the filing of charges against Iranian Mohsen Muhajiri, Iraqi Muhammad Ali al-Hassani, and Muhammad Baqir Saad Daoud al-Saadi, who holds dual Iranian and Iraqi citizenship, according to an indictment revealed on Tuesday.
The list accuses the three men of planning attacks in Europe, carried out in the name of an allegedly new group calling itself the “Islamic Right-Wing Movement.”
The US Department of Justice said in a statement that "seven of the 18 terrorist attacks for which the Islamic Right Movement claimed responsibility in Europe during the spring of 2026 occurred in the United Kingdom."
The statement added that the attacks included "arson attacks and the use of explosives, as well as a stabbing incident in London that nearly claimed the lives of two Jewish men, one of whom held dual American and British citizenship."
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Two Jewish men were stabbed in the Golders Green area of north London last April, and a suspect is scheduled to appear in court next year.
US FBI Director Kash Patel said, "The indictment, which includes eight charges, shows Iran's insistence on carrying out terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States."
He added that one of the three defendants "sent, according to the prosecution, encrypted messages from inside his prison cell to help carry out future acts of violence."
Patel explained that the defendants were involved in about 20 attempted attacks in support of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian-backed Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades militia.
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A large-scale security alert was declared on September 27, near the British Royal Air Force's Fairford base, in the Cotswolds region of Gloucestershire, after three suspicious pickup trucks were spotted near the air base.
No explosive materials were found inside the trucks, but the authorities confiscated a quantity of gasoline.
The US Department of Justice said that Al-Hassani, according to the prosecution, “directed and paid people who cooperated with him in the United Kingdom” during August, in order to “take preparatory steps and arrange the logistical aspects of the terrorist plot that targeted the Fairford base.”
The ministry added that Al-Hassani paid money to a person on August 22, in order to "monitor the vicinity of the Fairford base reconnaissance in preparation for carrying out the operation."
The Ministry also accuses Al-Hasani of paying money to several people during September to help him prepare for the scheme.
According to the ministry's statement, these preparations included "providing small trucks and drums of fuel, looking into purchasing chemicals that accelerate ignition, including large quantities of potassium chloride, and purchasing metal objects that can be used as fragments in explosive devices."
The statement added that the suspects then camouflaged the trucks to appear as if they belonged to two companies, one for delivering fuel and the other for supplying swimming pool supplies.
The ministry said, "On September 26, Al-Hassani, according to the prosecution, assigned people to drive three small trucks to the Fairford base, some of which were later found to be carrying barrels of fuel."
She added that Al-Hassani was in "frequent contact" with truck drivers, and helped direct them and determine the routes they would take.
The ministry explained that "at least two of the three trucks encountered a security checkpoint on the road while heading towards the vicinity of the Fairford base, and were not allowed to continue on the route they intended to take."
In the early hours of September 27, a local farmer spotted the trucks while returning home from a party and reported them to the police.
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The Iranian embassy in London said it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns” what it described as “unfounded and tendentious speculation” linking Iran to the incident.
Two British citizens appeared in court last month, against the backdrop of the alleged plot linked to Iran.
The United States withdrew all its bombers from the British Fairford Air Base following the incident, as US President Donald Trump attributed the decision to the presence of “some threats” targeting the base.
The US Air Force has used Fairford for decades.
In recent months, American B-1 and B-52 bombers launched from the base towards the Middle East, to carry out strikes that Washington described as “defensive” against Iran.
Last July, Iran announced that “any base used to launch aggression on Iranian territory is a legitimate target for our forces.”
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