A criminal complaint against an Iraqi man that was unsealed in a U.S. court on Friday, accusing him of plotting attacks in the United States, has raised fears that Iran is increasingly wielding its proxy forces to target Western interests far beyond the Middle East.
Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have tried to kill their opponents on American soil even before the war with the United States, according to U.S. officials. Their targets have ranged from President Trump to Masih Alinejad, an Iranian critic of the regime living in exile in New York.
The accusations against the Iraqi man, Mohammad al-Saadi, describe him as a high-ranking figure in Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia backed by Iran. The complaint has led to a heightened level of concern following a series of attacks in Europe that prosecutors said Mr. al-Saadi was involved in.
“They’ve expanded their scope into actual Western countries now beyond just the war zone,” said Aaron Y. Zelin, an expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, referring to Kataib Hezbollah.
“It is significant because it would suggest that more vectors of Iran’s broader ‘Axis of Resistance’ are involved in attacking in the West,” he added.
According to the complaint, Mr. al-Saadi was involved in planning at least 20 attacks in Europe and Canada since the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran began in late February, and was plotting attacks on U.S. soil, including against Jewish institutions.
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