Feds say they thwarted Iran-backed plot targeting Jewish institutions across U.S.

Federal authorities say they disrupted an Iran-backed plot aimed at Jewish institutions in New York City, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, before any attack could be carried out. Prosecutors arrested Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi and charged him with providing material support to Iranian-backed terrorist organizations and directing attacks on U.S. citizens and interests.

The Southern District of New York said on May 15, 2026, that Al-Saadi was a senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, an Iraqi Shiite militia backed by Iran and designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. Authorities said Al-Saadi committed himself to advancing the group’s goals and those of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The complaint alleges that he targeted at least three Jewish institutions: a prominent synagogue in New York City, a Jewish institution in Los Angeles and a Jewish institution in Scottsdale.

Officials said Al-Saadi texted an undercover law-enforcement officer photographs and maps showing the exact locations of the sites. The methods discussed included arson and an improvised explosive device. Because Al-Saadi was, in fact, plotting with an undercover officer, authorities said the threat was identified, monitored and controlled from the outset and no attack occurred.

The case lands amid mounting concern in Washington and among local law enforcement that Iran and its proxies are pushing threats far beyond the Middle East. Prosecutors alleged Al-Saadi coordinated or planned at least 18 terrorist attacks in Europe, and related reporting said the broader network had been tied to attacks and plots reaching into Europe and Canada. Other reporting described offers of $10,000 to carry out an attack and said the network used multiple names, including Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said the planned attack was aimed at the “heart” of New York’s Jewish community. The case was announced by the Southern District of New York alongside senior officials from the Justice Department, the FBI and the NYPD, underscoring the coordination federal prosecutors say was needed to track a transnational threat that targeted religious institutions in three American cities. Authorities said Al-Saadi was transferred into U.S. custody overseas before being brought to the United States.