Three People Charged Over Alleged Iran-Aligned Terror Plots, Including in the U.S.

Three people have been charged in connection with Iranian-linked plots in the U.S. and Europe, with an indictment alleging that one of them was the leader of a terrorist group who sought to coordinate with others from jail by passing coded messages through third parties.

Charges include conspiracy to provide material support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism, attempted acts of terrorism and conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, among others.

One of the people, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, was charged in May for working with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata'ib Hizballah, both of which have been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the U.S. Overall, there were over a dozen attacks and attempted attacks linked to the group, including against Jewish institutions in Europe and the U.S.

Among the attempted attacks was the the evacuation of aircraft from another base Fairford weeks ago, with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying earlier this month that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps was "almost certainly" behind the foiled attack.

Speaking at the House of Commons, Burnham said he could "confirm our assessment that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by the IRGC." "We will not tolerate these threats on our soil," Burnham added.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the government summoned Iranian ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi to question him on the matter. He told IRNA that Tehran "categorically rejects" the accusations.

Mousavi had also told the UK minister for the Middle East, Stephen Doty, that London has not provided any evidence to prove the allegations and Tehran stands ready to cooperate to clarify the matter.

A dozen U.S. bombers were evacuated from the military base following the incident. President Donald Trump said there was a drone threat against the assets. "There was a threat. We moved them around a little bit," Trump told press. The remarks contradicted those of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who claimed the move was part of "regular rotations" of assets and not tied directly to external threats.

Washington and London published a joint statement along with 27 other countries saying Iran has been using "violent attacks, including the acts of lethal plotting, arson, sabotage, cyber-attacks, and other hybrid activities against us and our partners." It added that the most recent incident "demonstrates the IRGC's continued willingness to project hostile activity beyond its borders through covert networks and proxy actors."

On Tuesday, the U.S. evacuated several aircraft from another airbase in the UK over alleged threats from Iran, according to another report.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the base in question is RAF Mildenhall in eastern England. Another outlet, Sky News, cited flight-tracking data showing nine KC-135 refueling tankers and three V-22 Ospreys leaving the base on Monday afternoon and evening. Most of them went to bases in Germany and Spain and one to Scotland.

The U.S. European Command (EUROCOM) said the move answered to a "variety of reasons" that could not be disclosed for protection measures. British Defense Minister Lucy Powell told Sky News that the UK is "constantly keeping the security of our bases under review" and "as we've seen with other cases recently, we take firm and quick action where we need to."