Dual Iranian-Iraqi National Indicted For Providing Material Support To Terrorist Organizations

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Acting Attorney General for the United States, Todd Blanche, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), Kash Patel, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI, James C. Barnacle, Jr., and Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the FBI, Darren Cox, announced today an eight-count indictment charging MOHAMMAD BAQER SAAD DAWOOD AL-SAADI, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national, with terrorism-related offenses for his activities as an operative of Kata'ib Hizballah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ("IRGC"), two U.S. designated foreign terrorist organizations ("FTOs"), including his involvement in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks throughout Europe and the United States. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon.

"As alleged, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi worked with Iranian-backed terrorist organizations to direct successful attacks that targeted civilians and attempted to target civilians in the United States," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. "Al-Saadi claims to be part of the 'resistance,' a group that includes the IRGC, an Iran-based designated foreign terrorist organization. These organizations have a stated goal of destroying our society and our collective commitment to freedom, security, and a better world for our children. The IRGC's claims are not just rhetoric, they are taking action around the world to undermine America and American values. All Americans should recognize that we have sworn enemies and when your enemies tell you something, and when they act, you should know that they mean it. For over 40 years, Iranian-backed groups, including the IRGC, have been committed to bringing terror to our shores, and our Office is proud to join with our colleagues across the Justice Department, the FBI, the NYPD, and many other partners to bring these groups to justice."

"As alleged in this indictment, Al-Saadi has been directly involved in terrorist operations and military decisions to attack U.S. and Israeli interests across the world and conspired with others to plan deadly attacks on American soil," said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. "Now that he has been removed from his perch as an alleged commander of Kata'ib Hizballah with close ties to the Iranian regime and its proxies around the world, we look forward to vigorously prosecuting him under American law in an American courtroom."

"The FBI's successful FTOC of Mohammad Al-Saadi, another high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism, is just the latest success in this administration's historic work to bring terrorists to justice," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "This was a righteous mission executed brilliantly by our agents, investigators, CIRG tactical units, interagency partners and our allies around the world who delivered yet again. This FBI will use our vast resources to detect and stop acts of terrorism and will work with our Justice Department partners to make sure those who engage in such actions are held accountable."

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and other public court filings:(1)

AL-SAADI, a longtime operative of Kata'ib Hizballah and the IRGC, has furthered the terrorist goals of those groups since at least in or about 2017. AL-SAADI allegedly has worked closely with senior leaders of both terrorist organizations and, following U.S. airstrikes killing certain of those terrorist leaders, has directed others to exact retribution by killing U.S. citizens and U.S. political and military leaders. In addition, as alleged, in recent months, AL-SAADI has helped plan and direct approximately 18 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe on behalf of those terrorist organizations (the "European Terrorist Attacks"). Those attacks were carried out in the name of a purportedly new terrorist group with the pseudonym Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, which is actually a front of Kata'ib Hizballah and other U.S. designated FTOs.

In addition, in or about March and April 2026, AL-SAADI attempted to carry out attacks in the United States, including against a synagogue in New York, New York. Most recently, on or about April 30, 2026, AL-SAADI tried to find someone in the United States who could carry out a terrorist attack and kill or injure individuals here. Specifically, that day AL-SAADI called an individual in the United States ("SOI-1") and asked if SOI-1 knew someone who could "attack" in the United States, including by "burning, . . . or whatever he can," including "killing." The next day, however, AL-SAADI, who was based in Iraq, was detained while traveling abroad.

On or about May 14, 2026, AL-SAADI was transferred into the custody of the FBI and transported to the United States, where he was brought to the Southern District of New York. Several electronic devices that AL-SAADI had been traveling with, including an Apple iPhone (the "AL-SAADI Phone"), were also transferred into the custody of the FBI. While in FBI custody en route to the United States, AL-SAADI waived his Miranda rights and voluntarily made statements to U.S. law enforcement agents. AL-SAADI stated, in substance and in part, that he was a leader of "the resistance," which he explained encompasses the IRGC and its proxies, including Kata'ib Hizballah, Hizballah, and the Houthis, all of which are U.S. designated foreign terrorist organizations. As part of his role in "the resistance," AL-SAADI stated that he was in charge of media and psychological warfare, including against the United States, as well as strategy and military intelligence. AL-SAADI was also responsible for media for Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, as part of his role handling media for the "resistance." AL-SAADI explained that the propaganda videos of the European Terrorist Attacks were part of the "psychological warfare" that "the resistance" was waging against the United States, designed to instill fear and terror in civilians.

AL-SAADI also described his close relationships with the current and former leadership of the IRGC. AL-SAADI said he was like a son of Qasem Soleimani, the longtime commander of the IRGC Quds Force ("IRGC-QF") who was killed during a U.S. airstrike in or about 2020. According to AL-SAADI, prior to Soleimani's death, AL-SAADI constantly traveled with him and was supposed to be driving Soleimani to meet Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, then the leader of Kata'ib Hizballah, the day that Soleimani and al-Muhandis were killed in a U.S. airstrike. AL-SAADI further stated that he was also close with Iran's former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. AL-SAADI explained that approximately three days before the current conflict with Iran began on or about February 28, 2026, and Khamenei was killed, AL-SAADI met with Khamenei in Iran.

AL-SAADI's social media accounts and the AL-SAADI Phone also contain evidence of AL-SAADI's allegedly longstanding role supporting the IRGC, Kata'ib Hizballah, and Hizballah, as well as of his direct involvement in the planning, execution, and promotion of the European Terrorist Attacks.

For example, the AL-SAADI phone contains videos and photos of AL-SAADI meeting with the leadership of the IRGC, Kata'ib Hizballah, and the Houthis; images glorifying the IRGC and Hizballah; and videos and photos reflecting AL-SAADI's own role as a commander in Kata'ib Hizballah, with access to machineguns and other dangerous weapons, including:

A video of AL-SAADI meeting with Soleimani (the former leader of the IRGC-QF) and Akram 'Abbas al-Kabi (a U.S.-designated terrorist and one of the main operatives in Iraq of the IRGC-QF) in what appears to be an underground operations center. Below are screenshots from the video, showing (i) from left to right, al-Kabi, Soleimani, and AL-SAADI together, and (ii) other individuals in the same room dressed in military uniforms.

A photo, shown below, from on or about February 12, 2024, of AL-SAADI standing in front of an array of machineguns in a conference room that AL-SAADI, in his post-arrest interview, stated was located in a building that at the time was used for "military intelligence" for "the resistance." The room has a map on the wall of what appears to be the United States accompanied by a list of "legitimate targets" (redacted here) identifying a number of prominent former and current U.S. officials:

AL-SAADI's social media accounts and the AL-SAADI Phone also contain evidence of AL-SAADI's role in the planning, execution, and promotion of the European Terrorist Attacks. As described further below, AL-SAADI participated in FaceTime calls with attackers as they were carrying out certain of the European Terrorist Attacks in real time, filmed those attacks as they were being conducted, helped create and disseminate propaganda videos of the attacks, discussed with a Kata'ib Hizballah member the need to engage in "psychological warfare" and the timing for certain of the attacks, and warned the Kata'ib Hizballah member about an attacker who had been arrested.

For example, on or about April 14, 2026, AL-SAADI received on an encrypted messaging application videos of two men dressed in hazmat suits, with the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya logo taped to each suit, and a drone that appears to have two vials of white powder attached to it. Screenshots from these videos are shown below. The content of these videos is consistent with the propaganda video that Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya posted on Telegram on or about April 16, 2026, in which it claimed that its members had attacked the Israeli Embassy in London using drones that were loaded with dangerous carcinogenic and radioactive materials.

A video from on or about April 18, 2026-the day of one of the European Terrorist Attacks against a synagogue in London-of AL-SAADI and approximately three or four other men on a FaceTime video call. The video call is projected onto a large screen against the background of the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyah logo. AL-SAADI is recording the attack through the call. In the video, one of the men, in English, instructs the individual on the other end of the call to execute the attack, directing that individual to take a lighter and "light one in your hand," "light it" and "throw the fourth one." Below is a screenshot from the video, with AL-SAADI, filming the attack, circled in red:

The AL-SAADI Phone also contains evidence that the European Terrorist Attacks were conducted on behalf of and in coordination with Kata'ib Hizballah and related terrorist organizations, and that Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya was just a front of those organizations. For example, one of AL-SAADI's primary phone contacts is a member of Kata'ib Hizballah (the "Kata'ib Hizballah Contact"), with whom AL-SAADI was constantly in touch during the European Terrorist Attacks. AL-SAADI exchanged with the Kata'ib Hizballah Contact propaganda videos of certain of the European Terrorist Attacks, which AL-SAADI instructed the Kata'ib Hizballah Contact to post on news outlets. In doing so, AL-SAADI explained that "[t]he most important thing is that within the psychological warfare, they [referring to Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya's messages] are useful," and that "anything that distracts the enemy is useful." For example, on or about April 29, 2026-the day two Jewish men, including a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed in London in one of the European Terrorist Attacks-AL-SAADI instructed the Kata'ib Hizballah Contact to "post it in the news[,] important," referring to video footage of that attack, including a propaganda video that Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya posted on Telegram in which it claimed credit for that attack. That same day, AL-SAADI sent the following message to the Kata'ib Hizballah Contact: "If God grants us success tonight, there will be a shooting at a restaurant." AL-SAADI, however, was detained shortly after he sent that message.

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AL-SAADI, 32, of Iraq and Iran, has been charged with: (i) conspiring to provide material support to Kata'ib Hizballah, a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; (ii) conspiring to provide material support to the IRGC, a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; (iii) conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison; (iv) providing material support for acts of terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison; (v) attempted acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, (vi) conspiring to bomb a place of public use, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; (vii) attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosive, which carries a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; and (viii) financing terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The statutory maximum and mandatory minimum penalties are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies, and the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, as well as the assistance of the Department of Justice's National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the NYPD, the New York State Police, and the Department of State.

This prosecution is being handled by the Office's National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Coyle and Sarah L. Kushner are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney James Donnelly of the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice's National Security Division.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

1. ^

   As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.