A suspected terrorist commander was charged Wednesday with orchestrating three planned attacks in the United States and now faces multiple federal terrorism charges.

According to authorities, Mohammad Al-Saadi allegedly attempted to recruit an individual — who was actually an undercover law enforcement operative — to carry out attacks in New York City, Los Angeles, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Sources familiar with the case told the NY Post that Al-Saadi was expected to make his initial court appearance Wednesday in federal court in lower Manhattan.

The alleged terror scheme surfaced more than two months after the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran.

Federal investigators identified Al-Saadi as a commander in Kata’ib Hizballah, an Iraq-based terrorist organization backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Both groups have been designated by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations, according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors allege that since the outbreak of the war with Iran, Al-Saadi “has directed attacks on U.S. and Israeli interests “including by killing Americans and Jews,” according to the indictment. The complaint further alleges that Al-Saadi and associates coordinated and claimed responsibility for at least 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe and two more in Canada.

Authorities also accused Al-Saadi of directing and attempting to organize terrorist attacks inside the United States, including plots targeting New York City.

He was charged with two counts of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, two counts of conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism, one count of conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, and one count of destruction of property by means of fire or explosive.

The New York Police Department confirmed that a planned attack targeting a Manhattan synagogue had been thwarted.

“Working with our law enforcement partners, we disrupted a plan to attack a Manhattan synagogue, and in partnership with the synagogue’s leadership, ensured its security when the threat was elevated,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement.

“This case puts into stark relief the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies like Kata’ib Hizballah — Foreign Terrorist Organizations that have repeatedly targeted Jewish communities across Europe and the United States since the war began,” she added.

According to the complaint, Al-Saadi, an Iraqi citizen, “has furthered the terrorist goals of that group and the IRGC since at least in or about 2017.” Investigators said he also maintained contact with senior terrorist figures, including Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in 2020.

The complaint further alleges that after the war with Iran began on February 28, Al-Saadi repeatedly urged followers to murder Americans and Israelis.

“Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel,” he wrote on Telegram on the day the war started, according to the complaint. “Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.”

Investigators said additional posts on X, Snapchat, and Telegram continued to encourage attacks against Americans and Israelis.

Authorities also accused Al-Saadi of helping coordinate 18 terror attacks throughout Europe since the war began, including incidents targeting a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, a Jewish school in Amsterdam, the Bank of America building in Paris, and arson attacks in London. Prosecutors said the attacks were carried out “in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya” — known as HAYI — “a component of Kata’ib Hizballah.”

According to prosecutors, Al-Saadi attempted last month to hire an undercover operative posing as a Mexican cartel member to set fire to a synagogue in New York City and two Jewish centers located in Los Angeles and Scottsdale. Investigators said he offered $10,000 for the attacks and requested video recordings of the incidents.

On an April 1 phone call cited in the complaint, Al-Saadi allegedly declared: “war will not end. Either they eradicate us, or we eradicate them.”

Dr. Sajjan Gohel, international security director at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, said HAYI serves as the “front used for propaganda and claim-of-responsibility operations, but it remains a vehicle for Iran’s operations.”

“Although this plot has been stopped in the United States, the infrastructure the IRGC has created remains intact,” Gohel added. “The worry will be that it demonstrates intent and desire to target Jewish communities globally, and the threat inside Europe remains prevalent.”