The US links the shooting of the Toronto consulate to the Iranian-backed commander – National
An Iraqi national charged with terrorism in the United States has been linked by prosecutors to a shooting outside the US embassy in downtown Toronto in March.
US prosecutors accuse Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi and others of being behind the Toronto attack, as well as a second attack against a synagogue in Canada, while also linking nearly 20 attacks across Europe tied to a network of Iran-backed militants.
The incident, treated by Canadian authorities as a national security incident, prompted an intense investigation by the RCMP.
A release issued by the US Department of Justice reveals that Al-Saadi appeared in a New York court on Friday after being charged with six terrorism-related charges related to his role as a senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to a newly unsealed US criminal complaint, prosecutors allege Al-Saadi and others “planned, coordinated, and claimed responsibility” for at least 18 terrorist attacks across Europe, as well as “two additional attacks in Canada.”
The complaint refers to the incident on March 10, 2026, where the American ambassador in Toronto was shot, where the police said two suspects got out in a white Honda CR-V car, shot at the building and fled the scene.
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Toronto police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said shell casings and damage were found in a downtown building, although no one was injured.
In US filings, FBI investigators said Al-Saadi discussed the attack on Canadians during recorded calls with a confidential source.
According to the complaint, Al-Saadi allegedly confirmed that “our people” were the ones who attacked Canada’s “consulate and the Knesset,” which investigators said referred to the shooting of the Toronto embassy and the attack on the synagogue.
The indictment also says Al-Saadi told the source he was “running multiple gangs” and sought help in the attack from Canada and the United States.
The complaint alleges Al-Saadi later how he could be paid for the workers attacking North America.
“In Europe, we have our boys; even in America, for example the other day, and in Canada we have our boys,” Al-Saadi said during a recorded call on April 1 cited in the file.
The complaint describes attacks involving explosives, arson and stabbings in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom, including attacks on synagogues, Jewish schools, embassies and financial institutions.
Outside court Friday, defense attorney Andrew Dallek said his client was being prosecuted “for political reasons.”
“We wanted to tell the court that it is very important for him that the court knows that he is facing a political case and that he is a prisoner of war and should be treated as such,” Dallek told reporters.
Dallek also questioned the circumstances surrounding Al-Saadi’s arrest in Turkey and his transfer to American custody, saying it appears that his client was brought to the United States “without extradition of this type overseas.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
