The U.S. government said on Monday it might charge additional people as part of a terror case that links attacks in Europe to Iran’s campaign of retaliation against the United States and Israel for the war that began in February.
A prosecutor told a Manhattan federal judge that a large part of the government’s case against Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a commander of an Iranian-backed militia, related to 18 terrorist attacks in Europe since March. Mr. al-Saadi has also been accused of plotting an attack against a synagogue in New York City.
“Individuals have been arrested in those attacks,” the prosecutor, Sarah L. Kushner, said.
Asked by the judge, Colleen McMahon, if the government would be bringing a new indictment, Ms. Kushner replied, “That is certainly a possibility.”
Mr. al-Saadi’s appearance in federal court was his second since he was handed over to the United States by Turkey and brought to Manhattan to face charges that were unsealed last month. Prosecutors have said he led Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia that has been a proxy for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp and has helped Tehran project power across the region, including in attacks on American diplomatic and military targets. Mr. al-Saadi pleaded not guilty on Monday.
His case is seen as significant in part because Kataib Hezbollah, while long one of the most important groups serving as an armed proxy for Iran, does not have a history of orchestrating attacks outside the region.
The charges tied Mr. al-Saadi to a little-known group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, which only surfaced in March and has taken credit for attacks in London, Belgium and the Netherlands without disclosing its links to the Iraqi militia. The attacks in Europe, 18 in all, appeared to target institutions linked to Israel and the United States, according to European authorities, and created a wave of fear among Jewish communities in Europe.
Mr. al-Saadi is one of the highest-ranking figures tied to Iran who is known to have been arrested and charged by the United States since the war began. During the current conflict and for years before, the United States and Israel have focused on killing Iranian officials.
For most of the half-hour-long hearing on Monday, Mr. al-Saadi, wearing an orange shirt under khaki prison clothes, appeared attentive. He smirked when the clerk read through the charges.
After his lawyer entered his client’s plea, Mr. al-Saadi interjected. “I’m a prisoner of war,” he said, speaking through an Arabic interpreter. “I am not a threat. Children and women are being killed by your rockets.”
Judge McMahon directed Mr. al-Saadi to be seated as two marshals approached him from behind and one guided him down with his hand. Judge McMahon directed Mr. al-Saadi to limit his comments to speaking to his attorney.
The prosecutor, Ms. Kushner, asked by the judge to outline the government’s evidence, mentioned, among other things, propaganda videos related to attacks in Europe.
“The defendant was involved in circulating those videos as well as preparing some of them,” Ms. Kushner said.
She also cited recordings of phone calls on which Mr. al-Saadi was heard speaking with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a Mexican cartel member in discussions about a possible terrorist attack in New York and elsewhere. Prosecutors have said Mr. al-Saadi discussed with the purported cartel member the plot to attack the Manhattan synagogue.
Judge McMahon pressed Ms. Kushner to estimate when the government would be ready for trial, and Ms. Kushner suggested at least a year, given the likelihood of proceedings over classified information as well as the ongoing investigation related to individuals and evidence abroad.
Mr. al-Saadi’s lawyer, Andrew Dalack, said he was apprehensive about a trial date so far in the future, given what he depicted as his client’s harsh jail conditions.
Mr. Dalack said he understood Mr. al-Saadi had been kept in “total solitary confinement” — first in an underground prison in Turkey for two weeks after his arrest, and then in Brooklyn, where he is currently detained.
“Already, the solitary confinement conditions have brought significant distress to Mr. al-Saadi,” Mr. Dalack said.
He added that it had been a full month since Mr. al-Saadi had been able to speak with his mother or siblings and he understood that his client would have more limits placed on him.
Mr. Dalack said the government had said it would impose on Mr. al-Saadi special administrative measures, known as SAMs, which severely restrict a prisoner’s communications with outsiders other than lawyers or immediate family members. The measures are used when the government considers a prisoner a serious danger to others.
At the hearing Judge McMahon did not set a trial date. Mr. Dalack declined to comment after the hearing.
Benjamin Weiser is a Times reporter covering the federal courts and U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, and the justice system more broadly.
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