We've been reporting for some weeks now about the reported Iranian-backed terror plots against British Royal Air Force (RAF) bases hosting American aircraft, including tankers and strategic bombers. Now, on Tuesday, we learned that one of the foiled attempts, namely the attempt at the RAF Fairford air base, may have been coordinated by an Iranian operative. Here's the interesting part: He reportedly orchestrated the attempt using coded messages on phone calls from his prison cell in the United States.
They may be evil, but we shouldn't presume they're stupid. At least, not all of them. An exclusive at the New York Post has that news.
An Iran-backed operative orchestrated a foiled terror plot targeting US military aircraft in England from an American prison cell — using “coded messages” in phone calls to relatives in Iraq, according to a federal indictment secured Tuesday.
Mohammad al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi citizen, was arrested in Turkey in May and transferred to the US to face charges related to almost 20 other terrorist attacks in Europe. He used his time behind bars to plot against US forces at Royal Air Force Base Fairford, according to the superseding indictment in the Southern District of New York.
British police arrested, and then released on bail, seven men following the RAF Fairford security scare and the case has until now remained mired in mystery — though President Trump and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham have both publicly said they believe Tehran is behind the threat.
So, this is a guy in an American prison cell, there on charges related to 20 terrorist attacks in Europe, and they let him phone home to Iraq? Nobody thought that might be a bad idea?
Here's the onion.
The new indictment says that al-Saadi, working with two codefendants based in Iran, used phone calls with his mother and sister to pass messages to the other suspects, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad al-Hassani.
All three men are believed to be part of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC)-linked terror network.
Of course they are.
All three men are named in the eight-count superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, stemming from their alleged involvement in nearly 20 terrorist attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States.
This comes, of course, hot on the heels of reports of another plot, this one against RAF Mildenhall. While we don't yet know, it wouldn't be surprising to learn that this reported plot also originated in Tehran. This is classic asymmetric warfare; hit the enemy where he's not expecting it, use minimal resources for maximum effect, and most of all, employ people you can afford to lose. Iran would seem to have a great number of people like that. Given the Islamic Republic's disregard for the lives of their own people, combined with the fanaticism of some of their proxy groups, that shouldn't be surprising.
The RAF Fairford attempt looks like it would have been just such an attack. But American and British intelligence, in this case, appear to have been one step ahead. But we can't count on that every time; our law enforcement and intelligence services have to get it right every single time, time after time, while the goblins only have to get it right once in a while.
But, for now, we've caught some of these suspected terrorists, and now we've identified three alleged operatives behind the plot. That's good. As long as we don't listen to the likes of incoming Rep. Adam Hamawy (NJ-12), we may yet outlast these goblins.
Editor's Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.