NEW YORK: A member of an Iran-backed militia plotted to attack the RAF Fairford air base in Britain while detained in the US on criminal charges, the US Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi attempted to pass coded ⁠messages to two ⁠other alleged Iran-backed operatives through phone calls to immediate family members from jail in New York, prosecutors said.

Al-Saadi had previously pleaded ⁠not guilty to eight criminal counts including conspiracy to provide material support to Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia the US considers a terrorist organization.

A lawyer for Al-Saadi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham ⁠said ⁠in October that a suspected plot targeting the base, which had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran, was “highly likely” to have been coordinated in Iran.

Iran has denied any role in the suspected plot.