NY case sheds light on alleged Iran-linked terror campaign targeting Diaspora Jews

US prosecutors say defendant Mohammad Al-Saadi orchestrated string of attacks on Jewish targets as part of ‘psychological warfare’ campaign on behalf of Iran

NEW YORK — Soon after the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, a string of attacks targeted Jewish sites in Europe.

An explosion hit a synagogue in Belgium, arsonists ignited a synagogue in the Netherlands, a bomb rocked a Jewish school in Amsterdam, four Hatzola ambulances were torched in London and a car was burned in a Jewish neighborhood in Antwerp, all during March.

A new group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) claimed credit. The group, whose name roughly translates to the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, was unknown until then. Analysts and investigators suspected Iranian involvement, but law enforcement investigations had not publicly exposed any connection to Iran.

That changed this month, when US prosecutors in the federal Southern District of New York court connected Iran to the attacks in Europe and revealed plots targeting Jewish sites in the US. The investigation also shed light on the alleged motives and tactics of the attackers.

The complaint and an indictment on Thursday accused Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an alleged member of the Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iraq-based, US-designated terrorist group aligned with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with plotting at least 18 attacks in Europe and two in Canada. Al-Saadi helped initiate the HAYI campaign, plotted its attacks and distributed its propaganda, prosecutors said.

Enmeshed in the ‘resistance’

Al-Saadi has relationships with the current leadership of the IRGC’s Quds Force and Kataeb Hezbollah, prosecutors said. Al-Saadi also posted photos on social media showing himself with the late IRGC general Qassem Soleimani, killed visiting Baghdad by a US airstrike in 2020, and other IRGC leaders.

The IRGC supports Kataeb Hezbollah, Hezbollah and other proxy groups with training, funding, weapons and intelligence to carry out its broader aim of “lethal action” against the US and its allies. The groups share the same ideology and are part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” prosecutors said, putting HAYI in the same network.

Al-Saadi, 32, was born in Tehran, but lived most of his life in Iraq. He is a dual citizen of Iran and Iraq. He was arrested while traveling in Turkey and extradited to the US in mid-May.

After his arrest, Al-Saadi waived his Miranda rights and explained his role to US law enforcement. Investigators obtained further information from Al-Saadi’s iPhone and social media accounts.

The evidence showed that Al-Saadi, attackers in Europe and Iran-linked operatives in the Middle East regularly shared messages and videos of their operations in the different countries, both before and after the start of the war.

Investigators tied Al-Saadi to the March attacks, as well as further incidents in April: an attempted bombing of a pro-Israel group in the Netherlands, flammable materials thrown into an Israeli restaurant in Munich, arson against a synagogue in North Macedonia and two synagogues in London, arson against Jewish ambulances in London, a drone attack targeting the Israeli embassy in the UK, and, last month, the stabbing of two Jewish men in London. Other attacks targeted non-Jewish sites connected to the US.

After the attacks, Al-Saadi allegedly posted propaganda videos of the incidents, claiming credit for HAYI. It was not clear if HAYI had actually orchestrated each attack it claimed credit for.

Prosecutors said HAYI is a front for Kataeb Hezbollah and emerged in March to obscure Kataeb Hezbollah’s involvement in the campaign. HAYI’s founding statement was broadcast on Shi’ite militant media channels used by Kataeb Hezbollah, Hezbollah and the IRGC, and HAYI uses a logo similar to those of Kataeb Hezbollah and Hezbollah.

‘Kill them everywhere’

Al-Saadi also connected HAYI to Iran due to his associations with IRGC leaders. Al-Saadi, as a commander of Kataeb Hezbollah, coordinated with IRGC leadership, prosecutors said. Al-Saadi was “like a son” to Soleimani and the two regularly traveled together. He was also close to the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, meeting with him three days before he was killed in a US-Israeli strike. He met with Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani last month to discuss a “solution” to the war and said he was able to “raise or lower the level of attacks,” prosecutors said.

Al-Saadi told investigators he was a leader of the “resistance” that included the IRGC and its proxies Kataeb Hezbollah, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen. He explained that there was “no real distinction between those groups,” the indictment said.

On February 28, the day the war began, Al-Saadi posted on Telegram, “Do not abandon the blood of your imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel.”

“Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere,” he said in Arabic.

In another statement, on X, he said, “Every individual or group capable of killing an American or Zionist target, whether civilian or military, in any country of the world, should begin by targeting them.”

A week later, in a typo-strewn English-language post on Snapchat titled “Shadow soldiers,” he said, “To all jihadens people in weast ,east earth …Its permission to all silent cells (R362 – C357 – A351) For work.”

Investigators said the messages were meant to “activate terrorist cells around the world.” It wasn’t clear what the code “R362 – C357 – A351” referred to. The attacks began days later.

Psychological warfare

The day of the first attacks in Europe, Al-Saadi posted a call on Telegram for “warriors of Islam” to engage in “jihad.” He began posting images of attacks, including against synagogues, Jewish schools, the Hatzola ambulances and London’s Israeli embassy, with HAYI’s logo.

Prosecutors said Al-Saadi had been on FaceTime calls with the assailants during some of the attacks, and had created and disseminated propaganda videos of the incidents.

He told investigators he was responsible for HAYI’s media operation, and that the propaganda footage of the attacks was “psychological warfare” meant to stoke terror in civilians.

In March, Al-Saadi told a Kataeb Hezbollah contact that, “The most important thing is that within the psychological warfare, [the HAYI messages] are useful,” and that “anything that distracts the enemy is useful.”

Also in March, Al-Saadi sent a contact at a Chinese media company raw footage of the arson against Hatzola ambulance in London, the indictment said.

After the stabbing of two Jewish men in London, HAYI claimed responsibility, Al-Saadi told a contact to post footage of the attack, and added that “there will be a shooting at a restaurant,” which did not materialize.

He also sought to target the US. His iPhone and social media accounts had images of him meeting with Iranian personnel in a military intelligence building with a map of the US on the wall and a list of “legitimate targets” in the US.

In a March call with an FBI informant, Al-Saadi said he was “running multiple teams,” was willing to kill people, and asked the informant to help attack targets in the US and Canada, such as “Jewish synagogues” and “Zionist headquarters.”

In April, in a statement bearing HAYI’s logo, he called on followers to kill US President Donald Trump.

He asked the informant about having a Mexican cartel use a car bomb or an improvised explosive device to attack Jewish targets in the US, said that a hand grenade was not “powerful” enough, and asked if the assailants were willing to kill people.

“This war will not end. Either they eradicate us, or we eradicate them,” he said.

Al-Saadi sent the informant a photograph and a map showing the location of a prominent New York synagogue and directed him to attack the site, and shared the locations of two Jewish targets in Los Angeles and Arizona. The complaint did not identify the specific targets.

He sent the undercover officer a down payment of $3,000 in cryptocurrency and said he would send another $7,000 when the attack was completed. He added that it was “most important” that the attacks “be recorded.”

He repeatedly pushed the informant to carry out the attacks immediately, saying, “I wanna see good news tonight.”

He was detained while traveling immediately after and transferred to New York on May 14.

Al-Saadi has been charged with eight counts related to terrorism, conspiracy, and bombings. He will be arraigned on Monday.