The US justice department has arrested and charged an Iraqi national accused of involvement in nearly 20 alleged terror attacks and attempted attacks across the US and Europe.

The wave of violence attributed to Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi has caused huge concern in many European countries but especially the UK, where Jewish community centres, charities, synagogues and other sites have been targeted in recent weeks.

The justice department announced the arrest of al-Saadi on Friday. He faces six terrorism-related charges tied to his alleged role as an operative for the Iraqi paramilitary group Kata’ib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both designated by the US as terrorist organizations.

Al-Saadi, who was transferred into United States custody overseas before being brought to the US, appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday. The charges filed against him include conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, and attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosives.

The justice department’s complaint alleges that al-Saadi worked closely with Qassem Suleimani, the former IRGC commander who was killed in a US airstrike in 2020. Photographs included in the complaint appear to show al-Saadi with Suleimani, who set up multiple networks of operatives and militia across the Middle East and beyond to carry out clandestine attacks.

The department also said al-Saadi was close to Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah, who was killed alongside Suleimani.

After their deaths, al-Saadi allegedly called for attacks against Americans. He allegedly posted on social media an image featuring the faces of Suleimani and al-Muhandis in July 2020 with the text: “Our revenge for the martyred leaders is ongoing. No negotiations with the occupier.”

The justice department describes al-Saadi as a commander for Kata’ib Hezbollah, and it alleges the 32-year-old was involved in a firebombing attack on New York Mellon, an American bank in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in March. A day after the attack, al-Saadi allegedly posted a propaganda video that “showed aspects of the attack planning, including maps of the location of where the attack would be”, the department said.

The video also featured a message stating: “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is the Final Warning[.] To all the peoples of the world, especially in the European Union, Immediately distance yourselves [] from all American and Zionist interests, facilities, and what is affiliated with them,” according to the justice department’s complaint.

Other attacks in which the department alleges al-Saadi was involved include an arson attack on a synagogue in Skopje, North Macedonia, in April, as well as the stabbing of two Jewish men – including a dual US-British citizen – in London, England. The attacks prompted UK prime minister Keir Starmer to describe a “crisis of antisemitism”.

Multiple claims of responsibility were made for the attacks in the name of a previously unknown group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI).

Analysts and security officials said at the time that although there was no direct proof of Iran’s involvement, multiple factors strongly suggested the attacks were part of a campaign of hybrid warfare launched by Tehran to destabilise US allies and warn them of a potential cost of greater involvement in the conflict – while also harming Jewish communities seen as supportive of Israel.

The justice department’s criminal complaint says HAYI is a front designed to carry out and further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hezbollah, Hezbollah and the IRGC.

On or about 7 March 2026, it says, al-Saadi posted a message on a Snapchat account, titled “Shadow soldiers”, which “was intended to activate terrorist cells around the world to engage in attacks in support of the IRGC and its proxies” after the US and Israel began waging war in Iran in late February.

The complaint cites multiple conversations between al-Saadi and an FBI source – and accuses him of involvement in an abortive attack on a branch of Bank of America in Paris. The operation, which involved petty criminals recruited from underworld circles in the French capital commissioned by an unidentified gang boss, was explicitly linked to Iran by senior French officials.

The justice department also alleged that al-Saadi acted on behalf of Kata’ib Hezbollah and the IRGC in an attempt to carry out terrorist attacks in the US, including by targeting Jewish institutions in New York. On 3 April, he allegedly communicated with an undercover law enforcement officer – identified in the complaint as UC-1 – whom he believed could carry out the attacks.

“That day, Al-Saadi texted UC-1 photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue located in New York … as well as two additional US-based Jewish institutions in Los Angeles, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectively, and directed UC-1 to carry out terrorist attacks against those targets,” the justice department alleged.

“Al-Saadi also spoke on the phone with UC-1, and discussed with UC-1, with respect to the New York Synagogue, whether UC-1 would use an improvised explosive device or ‘set the place on fire.’”

Defense attorney Andre Dalack declined to address the substance of the charges, saying it was too early to discuss details of the case. But he cautioned against a “rush to judgment” and raised concerns about al-Saadi’s detainment.

“We’re primarily concerned at the moment with the conditions of his confinement, as we understand he’s being held in solitary confinement, which we think is both cruel and unnecessary,” Dalack told Reuters.

In a statement on Friday, acting US attorney general Todd Blanche said: “Thanks to the dedication and vigilance of law enforcement, this alleged terrorist commander is now in US custody.

“These charges show American law enforcement will never let such evil go unchecked and will use all tools to disrupt and dismantle foreign terrorist organizations and their leaders.”

Meanwhile, New York police department commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement: “This case puts into stark relief the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies like Kata’ib Hezbollah – foreign terrorist organizations that have repeatedly targeted Jewish communities across Europe and the United States since the war began.”

Tisch said her agency, in coordination with partners, “disrupted a plot against a Manhattan synagogue”. She added that her agency and the synagogue’s leadership ensured the institution’s safety “when the threat was elevated”.