An Iran-born terror suspect who directed attacks on European Jewish institutions tried to hire a Mexican cartel operative to target American Jews, before being arrested in Turkey last month and extradited to the United States, the US Justice Department has alleged.
Mohammad al-Saadi, 33, whose trial is expected to begin next year in a federal U.S. court, is accused by US prosecutors of orchestrating at least 18 attacks across Europe on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including firebombings targeting synagogues and other Jewish institutions in the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands, according to the Sunday Times, citing US court documents.
He was arrested at a hotel in Istanbul on May 1 and transferred to FBI custody two weeks later. He has been charged with eight terrorism-related offences and could face life imprisonment if convicted, the newspaper reported.
Al-Saadi allegedly attempted in April to recruit a person he believed was affiliated with a Mexican drug cartel to carry out attacks against Jewish targets in the United States. Prosecutors said the individual was, in fact, an undercover FBI agent, according to the report.
US authorities reportedly regard al-Saadi as a senior operative with longstanding ties to Iran-backed militias in Iraq, including Kata'ib Hezbollah, which Washington has designated a terrorist organisation (it is a separate entity to Lebanon's Hezbollah group).
Prosecutors allege that al-Saadi helped establish a front organisation known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, or HAYI, which claimed responsibility for a series of attacks across Europe earlier this year.
The attacks began in March and included incidents targeting synagogues in Liege, Belgium and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as well as a Jewish school and an American bank branch in Amsterdam.
Authorities also linked the network to a series of attacks on Jewish targets in London, including a firebombing in Golders Green.
According to court filings, al-Saadi and associates in Baghdad allegedly directed some operations remotely and recorded attacks as they unfolded.
Al-Saadi allegedly maintained close ties to senior figures within Iran's regional proxy network, including the late Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
The Sunday Times cited court documents that said he claimed during FBI questioning to have met the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shortly before the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and Israel on Feb. 28.
At a preliminary hearing in Manhattan, al-Saadi pleaded not guilty. He described himself as a "prisoner of war" through an interpreter, according to the paper.
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