Terror suspect charged over alleged Iran-backed attacks on Jewish targets

An Iraqi militia commander accused of directing attacks on Jewish, Israeli and US targets across Europe, Canada and the United States has been charged in New York in a case American authorities say exposed an Iran-backed campaign of violence.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, an Iraqi national alleged to be a senior member of Kataib Hezbollah, was charged by federal complaint that was unsealed on 15 May after he was taken into US custody overseas and flown to New York.

His lawyer said Al-Saadi had been arrested in Turkey before being handed to US authorities. Al-Saadi appeared before US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan and was ordered detained pending trial. He has not entered a plea.

Al-Saadi faces six terrorism-related counts over his alleged role as an operative of Kataib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The charges include conspiracy to provide material support to Kataib Hezbollah, conspiracy to provide material support to the IRGC, conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism, providing material support for acts of terrorism, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, and attempted destruction of property by fire or explosives.

The most serious charge, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The attempted destruction charge carries a mandatory minimum term of five years and a maximum of 20 years.

The case has direct relevance for Israel and Jewish communities because prosecutors allege the campaign targeted US and Israeli interests, including Jews, synagogues and Jewish institutions.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Al-Saadi allegedly “directed and urged others to attack US and Israeli interests and to kill Americans and Jews in the US and abroad”.

According to the Justice Department, Al-Saadi used social media in February 2026 to call for violence against people he regarded as supporters of the United States and Israel. In one Arabic-language post cited by prosecutors, he allegedly urged Shiites in Iraq to “kill everyone who supports America and Israel” and referred to both civilian and military targets.

Prosecutors allege Al-Saadi and his associates planned, coordinated or claimed responsibility for at least 18 attacks in Europe and two in Canada under the name Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, which they describe as a component of Kataib Hezbollah.

The first alleged European attack came on or about 9 March 2026, when Al-Saadi allegedly posted a message calling on “warriors of Islam” to carry out jihad. Prosecutors say videos were later published in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya claiming responsibility for attacks.

On 15 March, according to the complaint, attackers used explosives against the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam. The next day, Al-Saadi allegedly posted a propaganda video claiming responsibility for the attack and warning people in Europe to distance themselves from “American and Zionist interests”.

The DOJ also cited an arson attack against a synagogue in Skopje, North Macedonia, on 12 April. Four days later, prosecutors allege Al-Saadi posted footage showing the synagogue on fire, with the logo of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya visible in the video.

Another attack cited in the complaint took place on 29 April, when two Jewish men, including a dual US-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously wounded in London.

The alleged US phase of the operation centred on Jewish targets. Court records say Al-Saadi began communicating on about 3 April with an undercover law enforcement officer he believed could carry out attacks in the United States.

Prosecutors allege he sent the officer photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent synagogue in New York, as well as two Jewish institutions in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona. He allegedly directed the officer to attack those sites and discussed whether the New York synagogue should be bombed with an improvised explosive device or set on fire.

AP reported that Al-Saadi allegedly offered the undercover officer $10,000 in cryptocurrency to carry out attacks on Jewish sites. Other reporting said he sent $3,000 as a down payment.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the case showed the threat posed by Iran and proxy groups such as Kataib Hezbollah, which she said had repeatedly targeted Jewish communities across Europe and the United States since the war began.

“Working with our law enforcement partners, we disrupted a plot against a Manhattan synagogue, and in partnership with the synagogue’s leadership, ensured its security when the threat was elevated,” Tisch said.

Kataib Hezbollah has been designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organisation since 2009. The Justice Department says the Iraq-based militia is closely aligned with the IRGC and has received training, funding, logistical support, weapons and intelligence from the IRGC’s Quds Force.

The complaint alleges Al-Saadi had worked closely with Qasem Soleimani, the former IRGC Quds Force commander, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the former Kataib Hezbollah leader. Both were killed in a US airstrike in January 2020.

The DOJ said photographs from one of Al-Saadi’s social media accounts showed him with Soleimani, including at what appeared to be a military-related facility. Prosecutors also cited a July 2020 social media post allegedly showing the US Capitol in ruins, with text saying revenge for Soleimani and al-Muhandis was continuing.

US Attorney Jay Clayton said Al-Saadi faced serious charges over his alleged role in attacks against US interests and efforts to kill on US soil.

FBI Director Kash Patel called Al-Saadi a high-value target and said the operation had been carried out by FBI agents, investigators, tactical units and interagency partners, with help from allies overseas.

Al-Saadi’s lawyer, Andrew Dalack, told the court his client considered himself a “political prisoner and a prisoner of war”. Reuters reported that Dalack did not address the substance of the charges but said he was concerned about Al-Saadi’s conditions in custody, saying he understood his client was being held in solitary confinement.