ITV News unmasks seven-man Iranian-funded network behind Europe attacks
ITV News has identified a seven-man network it says is directly funded by two branches of the Iranian state and blamed for attacks on Jewish sites in Europe and RAF Fairford in the UK.
How it was covered
- ITV was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on the unmasked seven-man network and its alleged European attack campaign.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Rohit Kachroo reported for ITV News that Western officials believe a seven-strong group is behind a campaign of attacks across Europe and is directly funded by two branches of the Iranian state. ITV News said the group was not the proxy force it had claimed to be, and that officials linked it to incidents including an attack on RAF Fairford.
According to ITV News, attacks since the start of the war in Iran included an explosion at a synagogue in Liège, the torching of a Jewish ambulance service in North London and the targeting of the British military base. The channel reported that the network usually followed attacks with claims of responsibility from a supposed organisation called the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, using menacing music and an official crest to appear larger and spread fear.
ITV News reported that officials believe the operation was run by seven men with laptops, AI expertise and underworld connections. The channel said the network planned to pay local criminals in Europe to carry out acts, often without their knowing who was really paying them.
ITV News named Mohamed Al-Sadi as the alleged heart of the network. The channel reported that he described himself as being like a son to Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general, and that once the war began he was alleged to have called on close friends to plan retaliation in Europe. It named the Rasul brothers for the first time and said investigators believed their criminal connections across Iraq, Iran and the Netherlands helped Al-Sadi plot.
ITV News also reported that figures from the Quds Force, an elite branch of the Revolutionary Guard, were called in. The channel said investigators believed Al-Sadi planned the North London attack on the Jewish ambulance service and produced a propaganda video claiming responsibility.
ITV News reported that the FBI had charged three men. The channel named Mohsen Mahajiri and Mohamed Ali Al-Hassani, describing them in a Baghdad nerve centre, and said Mahajiri told Al-Hassani they needed to focus on London as they looked at a map. ITV News reported that the network also looked at Greece, France and the Netherlands.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Investigators believed Mohamed Al-Sadi planned the attack and produced a propaganda video claiming responsibility. | |
| The group was reported to be directly funded by two branches of the Iranian state and not to be a proxy force as it had claimed. | |
| Western officials believed a seven-member group was responsible for incidents including one at RAF Fairford. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1's coverage was built around a single investigations exclusive by Rohit Kachroo, framing the campaign as an Iranian state-funded operation rather than a loose proxy network. It concentrated on the mechanics of the alleged conspiracy, including payments to local criminals, propaganda claims and the named organisers, and it placed the network in a wider wave of attacks after the start of the war in Iran.
- “Tonight, Rohit can reveal the seven-strong group Western officials believe are behind incidents like RAF Fairford.”
- “But officials believe this was the work of a group of seven men armed with laptops, AI expertise and a string of underworld connections.”
- “We need to focus on London, he's said to have told Mohamed Ali Al-Hassani, who sat next to him as they looked at a map of the city.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.