An alleged Iranian terror mastermind watched a livestream of an arson attack on a London synagogue, images released by US prosecutors have shown.
Mohammad Al Saadi is pictured standing in front of a large screen watching the attack unfold, as another man gives detailed instructions in English to the attacker on how to carry out the firebombing.
The images, taken from a FaceTime videocall, were released as Mr Al Saadi, 32, a dual Iranian–Iraqi citizen, was charged with terrorism offences.
He is alleged to be behind Harakat Ashab Al Yamin Al Islamia, also known as Ashab Al Yamin, which translates as the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right Hand.
He faces eight charges of orchestrating nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks throughout Europe and the US.
It comes as a Greek citizen has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, believed to be Iranian, over the targeting of a UK-based journalist working for news outlet Iran International.
Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, who lives in Munich, Germany, was charged on Friday with the offence under the National Security Act following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing London, Scotland Yard said.
Announcing the charges against Mr Al Saadi, the Department of Justice (DoJ) described him as a “long-time operative” of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shiite militia, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Both organisations are sanctioned and designated terrorists by the US.
Mr Al Saadi has helped plan and direct about 18 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe on behalf of those organisations, the DoJ alleges.
He is also accused of attempting to carry out an attack on a synagogue in New York City and trying to find someone in the US willing to kill or injure people.
Prosecutors say Mr Al Saadi’s social media accounts contain evidence of his role in the planning, execution and promotion of what they call “European terrorist attacks”.
On April 18, the day of an attack on a synagogue in London, Mr Al Saadi and three or four other men were holding a FaceTime video call.
The video is projected on to a large screen against the background of the Ashab Al Yamin logo and Mr Al Saadi is recording the attack throughout the call. London's Metropolitan Police say the Kenton United Synagogue was attacked on the same day.
The DoJ says that in the video, one of the men instructs an individual in English on the other end of the call to execute the attack.
Ashab Al Yamin has claimed responsibility for a cycle of violence against mostly Jewish and Israeli targets that began on March 9 with an arson attack on a synagogue in Belgium, followed by others in the Netherlands, France and the UK.
The attacks were accompanied by videos made by the perpetrators. The attacks included one on Iran International in London and the Bank of America in Paris.
While in FBI custody on his way to the US, Mr Al Saadi waived his right to remain silent and voluntarily made statements to US law enforcement agents, the DoJ said.
He told investigators he was a leader of “the resistance". This encompasses the IRGC and Iranian proxies such as Kataib Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.
Mr Al Saadi said his role was being in charge of psychological warfare, against the US and others, as well as strategy and military intelligence. He was also responsible for media for Ashab Al Yamin, he claimed.
He also told law enforcement officers that the propaganda videos of the European terror attacks were part of the “psychological warfare” that “the resistance” was waging against the US, designed to instil fear and terror among civilians.
According to the DoJ, his phone contains evidence that the terrorist attacks on Europe were conducted in co-ordination with Kataib Hezbollah and related terrorist organisations. Ashab Al Yamin was merely a front for those organisations.
