Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi was allegedly secretly recorded telling an FBI informant that he was ‘running multiple’ terror cells in Europe and that he did ‘not have a problem with killing’
An Iraqi militia chief charged with masterminding a string of antisemitic attacks in Britain allegedly boasted: “This war will not end, either they eradicate us, or we eradicate them.”
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi is said to have been secretly recorded telling an FBI informant that he was “running multiple” terror cells in Europe and that he did “not have a problem with killing”. Al-Saadi was held in Turkey as part of a US operation investigating at least 18 terrorist incidents across America and Europe, according to charges filed by the US Department of Justice.
He is said to have been behind the firebombing of Jewish community ambulances, a synagogue and the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green. In total, he is accused of masterminding eight attacks in London between March 23 and April 29, including an attempt to fly a drone into the Israeli embassy and an arson attack on a Persian language media organisation in London.
Al-Saadi allegedly boasted about his involvement in recorded telephone conversations with an FBI informant known only as SOI-1. On March 20 he allegedly told SOI-1 that he was “running multiple teams” in Europe adding that he “do[es] not have a problem with killing, neither do I have a problem with terrifying [the targets],” the files state.
He explained that he did not need help carrying out attacks in Europe because “things are working for us here in Europe,” “we really don’t need anything,” but “in Canada or America, if [SOI-1] can do anything . . . that would be . . . very, very important.”
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In a recorded call in connection with planning terrorist attacks in the United States, Al-Saadi allegedly said in Arabic: “[T]his war will not end. Either they eradicate us, or we eradicate them.”
The DoJ document alleged that he is linked to a shadowy group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (Hayi) – The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand – which has posted videos on social media laying claim to the attacks. All of the incidents happened after the US and Israel started bombing Iran in February.
The complaint was unsealed in a federal court in Manhattan on Friday, also accusing al-Saadi of being behind a shooting at the US consulate in Toronto and a spate of firebombings in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
He is charged with plotting to provide support to Hayi, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Both have been designated as foreign terrorist organisations by the US government.
Al-Saadi is also charged with conspiring and providing material support for acts of terrorism and conspiring to bomb a place of public use. His lawyer said he was a political prisoner and claimed he was being persecuted for his relationship with former IRGC leader Qasem Soleimani.
Soleimani was killed by the US in a drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020 on President Trump’s orders. Al-Saadi had a picture with the former IRGC leader on his social media and had previously promised to avenge his death.
In September 2020, he sent his followers via Snapchat an image of President Trump with a target symbol on his face, the charges reveal. It was accompanied by Arabic text that translates as: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will never forget the assassination of Martyr General Qassem Soleimani and will inevitably deliver a similar blow to the Americans.”
In February, 2021, he published on his X account an image of US troops being killed or injured in battle, with the caption “The Revenge”. The same year he wrote on social media: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. And coming to Washington and Florida.”
Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey before being brought to the US to stand trial. He reportedly smiled throughout his court appearance on Friday but did not speak. He did not enter a plea and was remanded in jail.
Al-Saadi allegedly posted claims of responsibility for attacks on Snapchat and Telegram in the name of Hayi. Officials believe Hayi was “designed to carry out and further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hezbollah, and the IRGC’.
In the UK, a drone with the group’s logo was flown towards the Israeli embassy in London. Hayi was unknown to the security services before the war in Iran and first appeared on social media channels associated with Iran-backed Islamist militia in Iraq.
