Photo via NBC News

U.S. charges 3 men with plotting multiple terror attacks, including planned attack against U.K. airbase

Read the original at NBC News ↗
Cite

Kosnar, M. (2026, November 11). U.S. charges 3 men with plotting multiple terror attacks, including planned attack against U.K. airbase. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/us-charges-3-men-plotting-multiple-terrorist-attacks-planned-attack-uk-rcna608647

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

NBC News · collected 2026-11-11 · by Michael Kosnar

Quick Summary

U.S. authorities have charged three men—Mohammad Al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri, and Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani—with plotting nearly 20 terrorist attacks supported by Iran. These planned attacks targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the U.S., as well as a British Royal Air Force base used by the U.S. Air Force. Al-Saadi was arrested earlier this year, while Mohajeri and Al-Hassani remain at large. The indictment details their involvement in surveilling RAF Fairford and planning an assault using vehicles disguised with fake decals to appear legitimate.
Written by AI on 2026-11-11, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 10, 2026, the US Justice Department charged three men with terrorism-related offenses for plotting nearly 20 attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, as well as an attempted assault on RAF Fairford air base in the UK. The defendants are Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi (dual Iranian-Iraqi national), Mohsen Mohajeri (Iranian national), and Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani (Iraqi national), all suspected of being Iran-supported operatives. Al-Saadi was already in U.S. custody and used coded messages to coordinate with his co-defendants from a New York jail through calls to family members in Iraq. The charges were outlined in an eight-count superseding indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court, linking the defendants to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Kata'ib Hizballah.

Written for “US Charges Iranian Operatives Over Terror Plots” on 2026-11-11, grounded in this article and the 16 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 143609 · logged 2026-11-11

Story

US Charges Iranian Operatives Over Terror Plots
Politics · 17 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Independent
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 64/100
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 25 claims Outlet record 67/100
Just The News
Hedges 3 of 14 claims Outlet record 95/100
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 33 claims Outlet record 61/100
Times of India
Hedges 14 of 44 claims Outlet record 59/100
Fox News
Hedges 6 of 18 claims Outlet record 67/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 8 claims Outlet record 65/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
3 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
72/100
NBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
17
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

NBC News · 2371 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Michael Kosnar
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
The Justice Department indictment alleges that Al-Hassani paid associates to carry out surveillance of RAF Fairford in August and paid several people to move forward with the plot in September “by procuring vans and barrels of fuel, researching the purchase of chemical accelerants, including large quantities of potassium chloride, and purchasing metallic objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said that “election integrity for the American people is one of the top priorities for this FBI,” and that the bureau would “not hesitate to use all available resources to investigate every credible allegation of election fraud and illegal voting.” While Trump has repeatedly made false claims that he won the 2020 election and also falsely claimed he won the popular vote in 2016, the Trump administration has struggled during both terms to bring any cases showing evidence of significant voter fraud.
Patrick Yaroch was charged with interstate transportation of stolen goods and receipt of stolen goods after he told a Justice Department employee that he became “frustrated” the FBI “could not or would not act against adversarial cryptocurrency accounts,” according to court documents.
Also by Michael Kosnar
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

British Iran Jewish U.S. the U.S. Air Force

Subjects

U.S. GPE · 9× Iran GPE · 7× Al-Saadi PERSON · 5× Al-Hassani PERSON · 3× British NORP · 2× Jewish NORP · 2× Kata’ib Hizballah PERSON · 2× Iranian-Iraqi NORP · 1× Mohammad Al-Saadi PERSON · 1× the U.S. Air Force ORG · 1×

Narrative

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald in New York said in a news release that Al-Saadi, who was arrested in the spring, continued to coordinate with his co-defendants in the days leading up to the attempted September terrorist plot at a British Royal Air Force Base in Fairford, where U.S. bombers and troops had been stationed.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-11
The Justice Department indictment alleges that Al-Hassani paid associates to carry out surveillance of RAF Fairford in August and paid several people to move forward with the plot in September “by procuring vans and barrels of fuel, researching the purchase of chemical accelerants, including large quantities of potassium chloride, and purchasing metallic objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel.”

Claims (18 extracted, 3 hedged)

Three men, including one already jailed in the U.S., were accused by U.S. authorities Tuesday of being Iran-supported operatives who plotted nearly 20 attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and the U.S., as well as a planned assault on a British air base used by the U.S. Air Force. asserted
who → include → Force
Charges against Mohammad Al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, were outlined in a superseding indictment unsealed in federal court in New York City. asserted
Charges → outline → City
Only Al-Saadi — an alleged pro-Iranian terrorist who is believed to have plotted attacks across Europe, Canada and the U.S., as first reported by NBC News — is in custody. asserted
who → allege → custody
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald in New York said in a news release that Al-Saadi, who was arrested in the spring, continued to coordinate with his co-defendants in the days leading up to the attempted September terrorist plot at a British Royal Air Force Base in Fairford, where U.S. bombers and troops had been stationed. asserted
bombers → say → Fairford
“As alleged, these defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organizations affiliated with Iran that targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, and the British military base, RAF Fairford, housing American service members asserted
that → allege → members
,” said McDonald, whose office is handling the case. asserted
office → say → case
“The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical — it is very real,” he added in the statement. asserted
he → present → statement
The new indictment offers fresh insight into an episode that has been shrouded in mystery for more than a month after five men were detained after midnight Sept. 27 on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offenses after three suspicious vans were spotted traveling toward the base in western England. asserted
vans → offer → England
The Justice Department indictment alleges that Al-Hassani paid associates to carry out surveillance of RAF Fairford in August and paid several people to move forward with the plot in September “by procuring vans and barrels of fuel, researching the purchase of chemical accelerants, including large quantities of potassium chloride, and purchasing metallic objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel.” uncertain
that → allege → shrapnel
The group even made custom decals to give the vans the appearance that they were used by a fuel company and a swimming pool supply business, authorities say. asserted
authorities → make → company
Al-Hassani is alleged to have then tasked the people to go to the base with the fuel when U.K. law enforcement took the men into custody. asserted
enforcement → allege → custody
Al-Saadi was helping direct the RAF Fairford plot while he was in a U.S. prison, according to the indictment. uncertain
he → help → indictment
He made video and phone calls to his family members in Iraq, who are alleged to have passed coded messages to Al-Hassani and Mohajeri. asserted
who → make → Hassani
In a July call with his sister, Al-Saadi asked, “What are we doing about all our old work?” — a reference to terrorist activity — according to investigators. uncertain
we → ask → investigators
His sister replied, “It isn’t cancelled,” investigators said. asserted
investigators → reply → ?
The indictment alleges that the three men conspired to use a network of contacts in the United Kingdom to commit terrorist attacks on behalf of an Iran-aligned terrorist network, which included Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hizballah. asserted
which → allege → Corps
In June, Al-Saadi pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted at least 18 attacks in Europe in retaliation for the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran. asserted
he → plead → Iran
The U.S. government has designated Kata’ib Hizballah and the Revolutionary Guards as foreign terrorist organizations. asserted
government → designate → organizations
Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

History Support