A senior terrorist linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was arrested and brought to a New York court last Friday, where he was charged with planning and executing nearly 20 attacks in Europe and Canada, and attempting to bomb a synagogue in the heart of Manhattan. The terrorist, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, a commander in the Shiite terror militia Kataib Hezbollah, acted to “avenge” the Iranian nuclear program by murdering Americans and Jews.
According to the indictment, al-Saadi planned to bomb a major Manhattan synagogue last April, but the plot was foiled after he transferred $3,000 to an undercover police agent he believed was a member of a Mexican drug cartel. He’s also accused of orchestrating the arson of a bank in Amsterdam, the stabbing of two Jews in London, and additional attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands. Maps and photos of Jewish targets in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, were also found in his possession.
During the hearing in federal court in Manhattan, al-Saadi appeared smiling, and his attorney argued he should be treated as a “prisoner of war” due to his ties with Qasem Soleimani, the Quds Force commander killed in a U.S. strike in 2020. On social media, al-Saadi called to “kill everyone who supports America and Israel.” The U.S. Attorney for Manhattan said, “al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through violence and intimidation.”