Overview
- Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al‑Saadi was arrested in Turkey on May 15 and extradited to the United States, where he is being held in solitary at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
- Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have charged Al‑Saadi with six terrorism‑related counts alleging he directed or coordinated nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and North America.
- Multiple outlets, citing the New York Post and former Iraqi officials, reported that Al‑Saadi pledged to kill Ivanka Trump, possessed a blueprint or map of her Florida home, and posted a threatening image online.
- Those reporting details about the Ivanka allegation are based mainly on named sources, while the Department of Justice filings public so far focus on the broader wave of attacks and do not list a separate, public charge tied only to an assassination plot.
- U.S. officials say Al‑Saadi is linked to Iran‑backed Kata'ib Hezbollah and trained with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a background that prosecutors say helps explain the cross‑border planning and has prompted stepped‑up security for U.S. and Jewish sites.