The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has disclosed that it has disrupted more than 1,300 terrorist threats and recorded nearly 7,000 arrests linked to Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) over the past 21 months, representing a 1,057 per cent increase in arrests.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the figures while commenting on the indictment of three alleged Iranian-backed operatives accused of involvement in nearly 20 terrorist attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) made the disclosure known on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, in a press release made available by email to The Daily Crucible.
The release announced an eight-count superseding indictment against Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national. The three defendants were accused of supporting Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the United States.
According to the indictment, the suspects allegedly participated in planning and coordinating nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States.
Their alleged activities included attacks targeting Jewish communities, arson incidents, explosives-related operations and a near-fatal stabbing of two Jewish men in London, one of whom holds dual American and British citizenship.
The most recent alleged operation involved a terrorist plot targeting Britain’s Royal Air Force Base at Fairford in September 2026. The military installation reportedly housed American military aircraft and personnel at the time.
Prosecutors alleged that al-Hassani coordinated the operation from Iran, recruiting associates in the United Kingdom to conduct surveillance and make logistical preparations ahead of the planned attack.
Investigators alleged that preparations included arranging vehicles, fuel supplies and other materials for the operation.
On September 26, al-Hassani allegedly directed associates to drive three vans towards the RAF Fairford base. At least two vehicles encountered security checkpoints, preventing them from following their intended routes. British authorities subsequently recovered the three vans and arrested their occupants in the early hours of September 27.
The indictment further alleges that al-Saadi continued coordinating terrorist activities despite being imprisoned in the United States while awaiting trial on earlier terrorism charges.
Prosecutors claim he used coded communications passed through family members in Iraq to relay messages to Mohajeri and al-Hassani. Investigators allege that some of the communications discussed resuming previous operations and providing money to facilitate further attacks.
The three suspects were also allegedly connected to a purported terrorist organisation known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), which American authorities describe as a front for Kata’ib Hizballah and other terrorist organisations.
The group claimed responsibility for 18 attacks across Europe during the spring of 2026, including seven in the United Kingdom. The alleged operations involved arson, explosives and attacks against Jewish targets.
Speaking on the indictment, FBI Director Kash Patel said the case demonstrated Iran’s determination to carry out terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States.
He stressed that the FBI would continue deploying its resources to identify and dismantle terrorist networks, citing the more than 1,300 terrorists disrupted and nearly 7,000 Foreign Terrorist Organization-related arrests recorded over the preceding 21 months. Patel warned that individuals threatening American security would face prosecution.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche also vowed to prosecute individuals involved in terrorist plots targeting military installations housing American personnel.
He said the Justice Department remained committed to dismantling terrorist networks and protecting Americans.
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security M. Scott Proctor described the indictment as a significant disruption of an alleged international terrorism conspiracy, while prosecutors emphasised that the threat posed by Iran-backed groups remained a serious concern for the United States and its allies.
The defendants face eight terrorism-related counts, including conspiracy to provide material support to designated terrorist organisations, financing terrorism, attempted terrorist attacks and conspiracy to bomb places of public use. Some charges carry maximum penalties of life imprisonment. The FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, alongside other federal, state and international law enforcement agencies, participated in the investigation.
However, the Justice Department stressed that the indictment contains allegations and all three defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
