Kata’ib Hizballah Commander with Ties to Iran Arrested for Terror Campaign

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed charges this week against Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a 32-year-old Iraqi national and senior Kata’ib Hizballah commander. According to the press release, the charges allege his direct involvement in nearly 20 terrorist attacks across Europe and active plotting against targets on U.S. soil.

Connections to IRGC

The complaint paints a picture of an operative with deep IRGC ties who worked directly alongside Qasem Soleimani before the latter’s death in 2020, and who has since directed a sustained campaign of retaliatory violence against American and Jewish targets. Between March and May 2026, Al-Saadi and associates operating under the banner of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya—a Kata’ib Hizballah component—claimed responsibility for 18 attacks across Europe, including a bombing of a Bank of New York Mellon branch in Amsterdam, an arson attack on a synagogue in Skopje, and the stabbing of two Jewish men in London, one a dual U.S.-British citizen.

Domestic Plotting 

In April 2026, Al-Saadi texted maps and photographs of a Manhattan synagogue, a Los Angeles Jewish institution, and a Scottsdale facility to an undercover FBI officer, asking whether the operative planned to use an IED or arson. The NYPD confirmed it worked directly with the targeted synagogue to harden security during the elevated threat period.

Bottom Line

The case illustrates the IRGC’s continued willingness to direct proxy violence against civilian and Jewish targets inside Western countries during and after the Iran War.

Access the full press release here: “Iraqi National Arrested And Charged With Providing Material Support To Iranian-Backed Terrorist Organizations And Directing Attacks Targeting U.S. Citizens And Interests.”