An Iraqi terror chief plotted to assassinate Ivanka Trump to avenge the death of his mentor, Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, according to a report.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, vowed to ‘kill’ the First Daughter and even had a map of her $24 million Florida mansion, the New York Post reports.
Al-Saadi was recently captured in Turkey and is accused of coordinating a string of antisemitic attacks in Britain.
He was transferred to the US after he was accused of planning at least 18 terrorist attacks across North America and Europe since February.
Al-Saadi made a ‘pledge’ to kill Ivanka in retaliation Soleimani’s death, who was killed in a 2020 drone strike on the orders of President Trump, sources told the New York Post.
Al-Saadi had a picture with the former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leader on his social media and had previously promised to avenge his death.
In 2021, he wrote: ‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. And coming to Washington and Florida.’
‘After Qasem was killed, he went around telling people ”we need to kill Ivanka to burn down the house of Trump the way he burned down our house”,’ former Iraqi military diplomat Entifadh Qanbar said.
A chilling terror plot against Ivanka Trump was allegedly hatched by an Iraqi terror chief, according to a report
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi may have wanted to target Ivanka Trump as revenge for the killing of Iranian military chief Qasem Soleimani
Al-Saadi once posted a photo with a map the home Ivanka shares with husband Jared Kushner and their three children to X.
A caption on the post translated to: ‘I say to the Americans look at this picture and know that neither your palaces nor the Secret Service will protect you. We are currently in the stage of surveillance and analysis. I told you, our revenge is a matter of time.’
A second source confirmed to The Post that Al-Saadi had plans to go after Ivanka following the killing of Soleimani.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment.
Al-Saadi is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (Hayi), an Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militant group, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, both of which have been designated by the US government as foreign terrorist organisations.
He is also charged with conspiring and providing material support for acts of terrorism and conspiring to bomb a place of public use.
Al-Saadi was reportedly caught in part through phone calls with an FBI informant who he believed was a fellow jihadist.
He provided the law enforcement officer with photos and maps of Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, that he planned to target.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi (pictured right with Soleimani), 32, was transferred to the US after he was accused of planning at least 18 terrorist attacks across North America and Europe since February
Al-Saadi once posted a photo with a map of Ivanka’s $24 million Florida home shared with husband Jared Kushner to X
Al-Saadi reportedly made a ‘pledge’ to kill Ivanka in retaliation for the death of his mentor Soleimani, who was killed in a 2020 drone strike on the orders of President Trump
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The complaint was unsealed in a federal court in Manhattan last Friday, accusing al-Saadi of being behind a shooting at the US consulate in Toronto and a spate of firebombings in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
The informant connected him to someone he claimed was a Mexican cartel member and gun for hire who could carry out bombings of Jewish targets for money.
He offered the FBI agent posing as a cartel member $100,000 to attack a synagogue and told him the attack should be recorded.
Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey before being brought to the US to stand trial.
He reportedly smiled throughout his court appearance but did not speak.
His lawyer said al-Saadi was a political prisoner and a prisoner of war and claimed he was being persecuted for his relationship with Soleimani.
He did not enter a plea and will remain in jail.
Al-Saadi allegedly posted claims of responsibility for attacks on Snapchat and Telegram in the name of Hayi.
The terror group claimed responsibility for a wave of crimes across the west as they unfolded, but officials believe Hayi was ‘designed to carry out and further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hezbollah, and the IRGC.’
A second source confirmed that Al-Saadi had plans to go after Ivanka following the killing of Soleimani
Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey before being brought to the US to stand trial
Hayi claimed responsibility for arson attacks including an Israeli restaurant in Munich and a synagogue in Skopje, Macedonia.
In the UK, a drone with the group’s logo was flown towards the Israeli embassy in London.
Hayi was an unknown entity for security services before the war in Iran and first appeared on social media channels associated with Iran-backed Islamist militia in Iraq.
A clue that the IRGC may have been behind the group came when investigators found that Hayi’s posts claiming responsibility or showing footage of attacks came so soon after each event, The Guardian reported.
Some of the social media posts appeared before the attacks took place, suggesting the author was either close to the person who organized them, or the same person.
Al-Saadi allegedly created some of the posts under his own name.
Security services have reported that Iran has used criminal networks to recruit operatives.
Investigators wrote: ‘Essentially overnight, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya was able to activate terrorist cells across Europe to carry out nearly 20 attacks in the weeks immediately following the start of the Iranian military conflict.’
Judge Sarah Netburn presides as Mohammad Al-Saadi, accused of planning an attack on a synagogue
FBI Director Kash Patel described Al-Saadi as a ‘high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism’ and said his arrest was the product of ‘a righteous mission executed brilliantly’ by the agency’s agents and law enforcement partners.
In his statement, Patel thanked US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, calling him ‘instrumental in bringing this successful mission home to the United States.’
Al-Saadi has been kept in solitary confinement since he arrived at a federal jail in Brooklyn on Thursday night, Dalack said, adding that such treatment was ‘unusual given the nature of charges in the complaint.’
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whose officers investigated Al-Saadi as part of the FBI´s Joint Terrorism Task Force, said the case ‘puts into stark relief the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies like Kata´ib Hizballah.’
