Highlights
- Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi was arrested and charged Friday with conspiracy to provide material support to Kata'ib Hizballah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
- A federal complaint unsealed in Manhattan alleges Al-Saadi provided an undercover officer with photos and maps of Jewish centers in Scottsdale and Los Angeles he planned to target.
- The complaint also ties Al-Saadi to at least 18 planned terror attacks in Europe and two recent attacks in Canada, including a shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto.
- Al-Saadi faced an initial court appearance Friday in Manhattan; no defense attorney had been identified as of the complaint's unsealing.
A federal complaint unsealed Friday in Manhattan names Jewish centers in Scottsdale among the planned targets of an Iraqi national accused of coordinating at least 18 terror attacks in Europe and two attacks in Canada on behalf of Iran-backed militant organizations.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Kata'ib Hizballah, an Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militant group, and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, both designated by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations. He is also charged with conspiring and providing material support for acts of terrorism and conspiring to bomb a place of public use.
According to the complaint, Al-Saadi provided an undercover law enforcement officer with photos and maps of Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, that he planned to target. The complaint also alleges he sought to attack a New York City synagogue last month.
The alleged European plot included firebombing a bank in Amsterdam and stabbing Jewish men in London, carried out in retaliation for the U.S. war in Iran, according to the complaint. In Canada, the complaint accuses Al-Saadi of involvement in an attack on a synagogue and a shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto in March.
The New York Times and ABC News both reported Friday on the arrest, corroborating the core allegations in the federal complaint.
Al-Saadi was expected to make an initial court appearance in Manhattan on Friday. No attorney who could speak on his behalf had been identified as of the complaint's unsealing.
Why does this matter to Scottsdale?
The federal complaint specifically names Jewish centers in Scottsdale as locations Al-Saadi photographed and mapped for a planned attack. That makes this a direct law-enforcement matter for the city's Jewish community and for Scottsdale PD, which would coordinate with federal authorities on any local protective response. Residents and institutions named in federal terrorism complaints should contact the FBI's Phoenix field office.
Al-Saadi's initial appearance was scheduled for Friday in federal court in Manhattan; the case is expected to proceed in the Southern District of New York.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- ktar.com retrieved 15/05/2026 17:35
- nytimes.com retrieved 15/05/2026 17:35
- abcnews.com retrieved 15/05/2026 17:35
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 15/05/2026 17:35. Every claim traces to a source.
