International
oi-Prakash KL
An alleged Iraqi militant with deep ties to Iran-backed paramilitary groups has been extradited to the United States. He stands accused of orchestrating a sprawling international campaign of terror targeting American, Jewish, and high-profile political figures across Europe and North America.
The Suspect and the Arrest
Following his arrest in Turkey on 15 May, 32-year-old Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi was transferred into US custody. Department of Justice documents outline his involvement in 18 separate attacks and attempted strikes.
Alleged Iraqi militant Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, linked to Iran’s IRGC, was extradited from Turkey to the US, accused of orchestrating terror plots in the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands, and plotting against Ivanka Trump.
According to federal filings, Al-Saadi’s alleged operational footprint spans several Western nations, including:
- The United Kingdom: The stabbing of two Jewish individuals in London.
- Canada: A shooting incident at the US consulate building in Toronto.
- The Netherlands: The firebombing of a Bank of New York Mellon branch in Amsterdam and an attack on a Rotterdam synagogue.
- Belgium: A targeted attack on a synagogue in Liège.
The Plot Against Ivanka Trump
Beyond institutional targets, US investigators allege that Al-Saadi harboured a personal vendetta against the family of former US President Donald Trump. Sources indicate he actively plotted to assassinate the former president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, in retaliation for the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.
“After Qasem was killed, he went around telling people, ‘We need to kill Ivanka to burn down the house of Trump the way he burned down our house,'” stated Entifadh Qanbar, a former deputy military attaché at the Iraqi embassy in Washington.
Qanbar revealed that Al-Saadi possessed a detailed map pinpointing the Florida neighbourhood where Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, reside. Intelligence officials also recovered an online post by the suspect displaying the property alongside a chilling Arabic caption: “We are currently in the stage of surveillance and analysis. I told you, our revenge is a matter of time.”
Deep Links to Tehran
US prosecutors assert that Al-Saadi maintained operational ties with Kata’ib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Security experts note he remained close with senior Iranian military officials well after Soleimani’s death.
Court documents highlight a trail of digital evidence, including social media posts showing Al-Saadi alongside advanced weaponry, missiles, and senior Iranian commanders. Federal filings even feature photographs of him consulting directly with Soleimani at a military facility.
Broader Iranian Escalation
This prosecution coincides with a sharp escalation in state-sanctioned threats from Tehran. Iranian lawmakers are currently debating a bill to establish a €50 million bounty for the assassination of Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This legislative move, introduced in response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, marks a dangerous shift toward the formalisation of state-sponsored assassinations against Western leaders.
