MANHATTAN, N.Y. — Federal law enforcement authorities have secured terrorism-related charges against an Iraqi man accused of orchestrating a sprawling, Iran-linked plot to carry out violent attacks targeting Jewish communities and Western interests across three continents, court documents unsealed Friday confirm.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, the 48-year-old suspect, stands accused of planning no fewer than 18 separate terrorist attacks across Europe, all framed as retaliation for U.S. military engagement in the Middle East. The alleged plots included plans to firebomb a major bank in Amsterdam and carry out stabbings targeting Jewish civilians in London, according to the unsealed complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
Beyond European targets, prosecutors allege Al-Saadi was actively developing plans to strike a synagogue in New York City as recently as last month. He is also accused of sharing visual intelligence — including photographs and detailed location maps — of Jewish community centers in Los Angeles, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona, to an undercover law enforcement agent, marking the sites as planned targets.
The complaint also ties Al-Saadi to two high-profile violent attacks in Canada earlier this year: a targeted assault on a Canadian synagogue and a March shooting at the U.S. consulate general in Toronto.
Al-Saadi faces four separate federal charges: conspiracy to provide material support to two U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, Kata’ib Hizballah, an Iraqi Shia militant group backed by Tehran, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran; conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transnationally; providing material support to these terrorist acts; and conspiracy to bomb a facility of public use.
Court records confirm Al-Saadi was arrested by Turkish law enforcement before being extradited to U.S. custody. He was transferred to a federal detention facility in Brooklyn Thursday evening, and has been held in solitary confinement since his arrival, according to his defense counsel.
During his initial court appearance this week, Al-Saadi did not make any on-the-record statements. Through his attorney, Andrew Dalack, he has claimed he is being wrongfully detained as a political prisoner and prisoner of war, asserting persecution by U.S. authorities over his past personal ties to Qasem Soleimani, the former top commander of the IRGC Quds Force who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.
Under standard federal procedures, Al-Saadi was not required to enter a formal plea at his initial hearing. He remains in federal custody as of Friday, though his legal team has signaled he may file a motion for bail at a later date.