An Iranian proxy commander was in a Brooklyn jail when prosecutors say he helped direct a UK air base plot through coded calls to his mom and sister

Federal prosecutors have revealed that Mohammad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander of an Iranian proxy group, allegedly directed a failed attack on a British air force base while he was behind bars at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. CNN reported that Al-Saadi, who holds dual citizenship in Iran and Iraq and is associated with Kata’ib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), allegedly used coded phone calls to his family to pass instructions to his co-conspirators.

The plot reportedly focused on RAF Fairford, a UK base that houses US B-1 bombers. Prosecutors say Al-Saadi worked with Mohsen Mohajeri, an IRGC operative, and another man named Mohammad Ali Al-Hassani. Per The Guardian, the indictment alleges that the conspirators tasked a team with surveilling the base and procuring cans, barrels of fuel, chemical accelerants, and metallic objects to be used as shrapnel.

British police were reportedly tipped off in September when reports of suspicious vehicles near the base led to the arrest of seven men. According to CNN, the suspects were initially released on strict conditions when no explosives were found in the vans. However, authorities rearrested several of the suspects in late October after finding evidence of the alleged plot and its possible ties to the IRGC.

Special restrictions allegedly didn’t stop the coded calls

According to CNN, the Department of Justice had placed Al-Saadi under special restrictions, which limited his communication to only his lawyers and immediate family. Despite that, prosecutors allege he continued to use coded language to push the plot forward. They highlighted a call from Sept. 24 in which he allegedly told his family to “give him money so we can do it.” The indictment noted that the RAF base plot was attempted three days after this call.

Per the outlet, court documents claim Al-Saadi planned and directed the initial steps of the plan. He allegedly used nicknames to tell his family in Iraq to order the surveillance and to transfer money for the initial procurement. Prosecutors say that he also used the word “work” to talk about the planned attacks and to pass messages to Mohajeri. In one July call mentioned in the documents, he asked his sister if their “old work” had been cancelled, to which she allegedly said, “it isn’t cancelled.”

According to the DOJ press release, Al-Saadi is also facing other charges. He was initially arrested earlier this year for his alleged role in nearly 20 terrorist attacks across Europe and an attempt to hire someone for an attack on a Manhattan synagogue. After his first arrest, he reportedly told investigators he handled media, psychological warfare, and military intelligence for Iranian proxy groups.

CNN further reported that when he was charged earlier in the year, prosecutors alleged that Al-Saadi helped film terrorist attacks across Europe through FaceTime calls with assailants to create propaganda videos from the footage. At the time, sources also alleged he “pledged” to kill Ivanka Trump. The updated charges now also list the RAF attempt.

US Attorney Jamie McDonald said, as quoted by The Guardian, “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.”

He added, “Even after one of their co-conspirators was arrested and placed in federal custody, the defendants allegedly continued coordinating terrorist activity through coded communications and a network of associates overseas.” McDonald also said the threat posed by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to the US and its allies “is very real.”