A suspected terrorist with ties to Iran’s military has been arrested and hauled to New York to face charges of carrying out and plotting nearly 20 attacks across Europe and Canada – with plans to blow up a Big Apple synagogue – to punish Americans and Jews over the Iran war.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an accused commander in a terrorist organization linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, allegedly orchestrated the firebombing of the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam, the stabbing of two Jewish victims in London and other foiled counter-attacks in the US in response to the conflict in the Middle East.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence. In a righteous and just contrast, his prosecution will highlight the best of our country,” Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.
Al-Saadi, a 32-year-old accused high-ranking official of the terror group Kata’ib Hizballah, and bloodthirsty accomplices, allegedly “planned, coordinated and taken responsibility for” attacks that also included a March 9 bombing of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium and a March 13 arson of a Rotterdam temple, the feds said.
The Iraqi national was accused of preparing to bomb a “prominent” Manhattan temple on April 6, but the plot was foiled after he unwittingly sent $3,000 to an undercover law enforcement officer he believed was a Mexican cartel member to carry out the disaster.
He allegedly offered to fork over $10,000 in total, and texted the undercover, “I wanna see good news tonight . . . not tomorrow bro” the night the attack was supposed to happen, court docs claimed.
The specific synagogue was kept under wraps by prosecutors as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Friday police worked with temple leadership to ensure its security when they became aware of the elevated threat.
Here is the laundry list of attacks and planned attacks that prosecutors allege the terror suspect is responsible for:
- March 9, 2026 — Bombing of a synagogue in Liege, Belgium. He posted a propaganda video on his Telegram account taking credit for the attack.
- March 10, 2026 — Shooting at the US consulate building in Toronto
- March 13, 2026 — Arson at a synagogue in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
- March 14, 2026 — Bombing outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- March 15, 2026 — Bombing of Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam. Al-Saadi posts threat on his Snapchat account the next day, that he says is a “final warning” to the world to “immediately distance yourselves from all American and Zionist interests, facilities, and what is affiliated with them.”
- March 23, 2026 — Four masked men carry out arson attack on Hatzalah ambulances in London.
- March 23, 2026 (later that night) — Arson attack on a parked car in a Jewish neighborhood of Antwerp, Belgium.
- March 28, 2026 — Attempted to place explosive device at the Bank of America building in Paris.
- April 3, 2026 — Attempted to bomb a pro-Israel organization in Nijerk, Netherlands.
- April 5, 2026 — Planned an attack on a “prominent” New York City synagogue. Agreed to pay an undercover agent $10,000 to carry out the plot.
- April 10, 2026 — Pyrotechnic devices thrown into an Israeli restaurant in Munich, Germany. Attack happened after midnight but the terror group posted a threat on social media that it “could have happened during the day.”
- April 12, 2026 — Arson attack against a temple in Skopje, North Macedonia.
- April 15, 2026 — Arson attacks in London against a media organization and a synagogue.
- April 17, 2026 — Arson attack on Jewish charity organization in London.
- April 18, 2026 — Arson attack on London temple. Terror group brags on social media that it had targeted “one of the centers of Zionist influence in the British capital.”
- April 29, 2026 — An individual stabs two Jewish men — including a dual US-British citizen — in London.
“This case puts into stark relief the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies like Kata’ib Hizballah—Foreign Terrorist Organizations that have repeatedly targeted Jewish communities across Europe and the United States since the war began,” Tisch said.
Al-Saadi also allegedly had Jewish sites in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, AZ in his crosshairs — including maps and photos of the targeted institutions — that were prevented. .
The suspect “has directed and urged others to attack U.S. and Israeli interests, including by killing Americans and Jews, in retaliation for the Iranian Military Conflict,” the criminal complaint says.
“Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel,” he allegedly posted online in February.
“Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.”
Al-Saadi was captured in Turkey earlier this week and brought in front of a Manhattan federal judge Friday afternoon, where he smirked through the appearance and his lawyer claimed he was a “prisoner of war” because of his client’s association with prominent Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike in 2020.
Al-Saadi was captured in Turkey earlier this week and brought in front of a Manhattan federal judge Friday afternoon, where he whined he was a “prisoner of war” because of his association with prominent Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike in 2020.
“It is very important to Mr. Al-Saadi that the court know that he is a political prisoner and a prisoner of war and should be treated as such,” his public defender, Andrew Dalack, told the court.
Al-Saadi and Soleimani were pictured together in photos published on a social media account belonging to the defendant, prosecutors said.
Al-Saadi is facing charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorist groups, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, and other raps.
The suspect terrorist, who also allegedly has links to Hezbollah, is currently in solitary confinement at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, which houses other high-profile inmates like accused CEO shooter Luigi Mangione and captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
“Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice,” Clayton said.
