Iran-backed militant helped plot attack on UK’s Fairford base from US jail

A member of an Iran-backed militia plotted to attack the RAF Fairford air base in Britain while detained in the US on criminal charges, the US Justice Department said on Tuesday. Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi attempted to pass coded messages to two other alleged Iran-backed operatives through phone calls to immediate family members from jail in New York, US prosecutors said.Al-Saadi had previously pleaded not guilty to eight criminal counts including conspiracy to provide material support to Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia the US considers a terrorist organization.A lawyer for Al-Saadi declined to comment. In a court filing on October 14, Al-Saadi’s lawyers said the prosecution’s assertion that he was using coded language during phone calls with family was speculative and based on questionable translations from Arabic. They said there were banal explanations for conversations the prosecution flagged as concerning. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in October that a suspected plot targeting the base, which had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran, was “highly likely” to have been coordinated in Iran.Iran has denied any role in the suspected plot.