Coded Prison Calls Allegedly Relayed Iran-Backed Plot Orders From Brooklyn Jail

On July 30, a man held in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn asked his sister a question that sounded ordinary: what were they doing about all their old work? According to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, the question was not ordinary. Prosecutors say the man, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national, used "work" as a code word for terrorist activity, and that his sister's reply, that it "isn't cancelled," was an assurance the plans were still alive.

Al-Saadi was arrested in May and has been in solitary since. He pleaded not guilty in June to charges that he plotted at least 18 attacks across Europe in retaliation for the US and Israel's war with Iran. In court he called himself a "prisoner of war." He has been denied bail. The Justice Department calls him dangerous and cites his alleged willingness to target American and Israeli interests. Prosecutors also allege he was a commander of Kata'ib Hizballah; the US has designated that group, and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as foreign terrorist organisations.

The indictment ties the calls to a plot that surfaced in Britain on September 27, when three suspicious vans were seen heading toward RAF Fairford, an air base in western England, about 160 kilometres west of London. American bombers have used it in several Middle East operations, and it houses US service members. Several men were detained on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences. Seven were arrested in all and first released on bail; two were later rearrested on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service and charged under Britain's National Security Act. Tehran denied involvement after British authorities linked the incident to Iran. The US has since pulled its bombers out of Fairford and returned them to the United States.

Two alleged associates are charged alongside al-Saadi: Iranian national Mohsen Mohajeri and Iraqi national Mohammad Ali al-Hassani. Prosecutors say the three worked with Iran-backed operatives to plan nearly 20 attacks against Jewish communities in Europe and the US. Neither Mohajeri nor al-Hassani is in American custody.

The indictment describes attacks it says were carried out in London. In mid-April, al-Saadi, al-Hassani and Mohajeri allegedly directed an associate to set fire to a Jewish charity organisation, watching through video projected from a laptop onto a large screen. A day later they allegedly directed an attack on a London synagogue, with al-Hassani reportedly telling the operative to "light it up like a Christmas tree."

The jail calls form the core of the new details. Prosecutors say al-Saadi asked his mother and sister to pass messages to Mohajeri. On July 30 he wanted to know whether the work had been abandoned or merely suspended. On September 24 he asked about al-Hassani, who had reportedly been moved to the "International Section," and then told his family to "give him money so we can do it."

The calls were permitted but monitored and recorded by the FBI, according to court documents. Al-Saadi made nine phone or video calls between June and September. His lawyer complained in September that several were interrupted or abruptly cut off. Prosecutors responded by seeking to limit him to one hourlong call a month, arguing that phrases like "work" and "a job" could be coded talk of attacks. In one call his mother warned him against raising a certain subject, saying "they may end the call," and the FBI then ended it, prosecutors say.

Manhattan US attorney Jamie McDonald said the defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror for Iran-affiliated groups, and that the threat "is not hypothetical." Attorney General Todd Blanche said anyone plotting an attack on a base housing American service members would be prosecuted. The allegations remain untested in court. Watch for whether Mohajeri and al-Hassani are brought to the US, and for how a judge rules on limiting al-Saadi's calls.