Jonathan Sacerdoti

Writer, broadcaster, commentator

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

Should the West be Suspicious of Islam? My full Oxford Union speech.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

Full info here: https://t.co/fCV519KDy1

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

Three Iranian-backed operatives indicted for their roles in nearly 20 terrorist attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States, including seven attacks in Britain and a foiled plot to attack RAF Fairford, a British military base housing American aircraft and personnel.

The US Justice Department has revealed extraordinary details of an Iranian-backed terrorist network allegedly responsible for attacks on synagogues and the near-fatal stabbing of two Jewish men in London.

Three men have been charged: Iranian-Iraqi Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Iranian Mohsen Mohajeri and Iraqi Mohammad Ali al-Hassani.

According to prosecutors, the network directed attacks on London remotely, sometimes watching perpetrators through live video calls and filming the violence as it unfolded.

Seven attacks took place in Britain, more than in any other European country.

At RAF Fairford, operatives allegedly conducted surveillance, acquired fuel and potential explosive materials, and disguised three vans as commercial delivery vehicles. British police intercepted the plot.

Extraordinarily, al-Saadi allegedly continued coordinating terrorist operations through coded telephone calls to his family while imprisoned in New York.

Prosecutors say the network operated on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata’ib Hizballah, using a supposedly independent terrorist organisation as cover.

The charges remain allegations.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

A Palestinian asylum seeker who arrived in Britain illegally by small boat has been jailed for six years after breaking into a family home and masturbating in front of terrified young girls. The judge concluded that he intended to rape at least one of them.

Mohammed Abbas, 29, who claims to be Palestinian, arrived from France in March. By July, he had already been convicted of assaulting a police officer, whom he spat at, and battery.

Rather than being deported, he was given a taxpayer-funded, £250,000 two-bedroom house in Cardiff, where he lived alone.

Just two days after moving in, Abbas broke into a nearby family home at 2am, entering a bedroom shared by three sisters, including two children under 16.

He exposed himself, repeatedly demanded sex and masturbated as the girls screamed in terror. He even attempted to climb towards one of them on a bunk bed. She desperately fought him off with a pillow.

Their screams eventually alerted their family, and Abbas fled.

Police subsequently discovered stolen belongings at his accommodation and DNA evidence linking him to the bedroom.

The court heard that Abbas received £30 weekly from the Home Office, which he spent on food, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. His asylum application remained undecided.

Judge Lucy Crowther described the danger he posed to women and girls as “real and imminent”. He received six years’ imprisonment and three years’ extended licence.

Meanwhile, the British Government has reopened its refugee resettlement scheme, with approximately a quarter of referrals earmarked collectively for Palestinians and Afghan women and girls.

Ministers expect initially hundreds of arrivals across the new resettlement routes, potentially rising into the low thousands.

Abbas cannot be considered for deportation until he has served his custodial sentence.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

American military aircraft have been evacuated from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk following intelligence about a possible Iranian threat, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Several US refuelling tankers were relocated to Germany and Prestwick Airport in Scotland on Monday, while other aircraft were moved from Mildenhall to nearby RAF Lakenheath. Security at both bases was raised to Force Protection Condition Charlie, the second-highest American military alert level.

The specialist defence publication The War Zone documented the unusual movements, which coincided with additional American military deployments towards the Middle East.

The involvement of two major US airbases is significant. Mildenhall supports aerial refuelling, reconnaissance and special operations, while Lakenheath hosts American fighter aircraft, including F-35s. Dispersing aircraft between installations and relocating tankers further afield could reduce their vulnerability to a concentrated attack while preserving operational capabilities.

The precise nature of the Iranian threat remains unclear.

One possibility is that American commanders have received intelligence about an Iranian attack against their British installations, following earlier suspected Iranian intelligence activity targeting RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

Another is that Washington is dispersing vulnerable aircraft ahead of renewed strikes against Iran, anticipating retaliation. Both explanations could be true simultaneously.

The movements raise questions about whether these precautions are purely defensive or preparations for another confrontation with Iran.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

France has formally accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of carrying out a major cyberattack against refrigeration systems at approximately 700 retail sites across the country, destroying food supplies and reportedly causing at least 15 fires.

The attack, which took place overnight on 11–12 October, involved hackers remotely manipulating refrigeration controllers, raising temperatures to as high as 50°C. The resulting damage reportedly ran into tens of millions of euros.

French authorities have identified three senior Iranian officials suspected of involvement:

• Hamid Reza Lashgarian – Head of the IRGC’s Electronic and Cyber Centre.

• Mahdi Lashgarian – Commander of the IRGC’s Shahid Kaveh cyber unit.

• Reza Salarvand – Also identified as a commander of the Shahid Kaveh unit.

French prosecutors have reportedly requested international arrest warrants.

The French investigation also identified cyberattacks targeting equipment at small hydroelectric installations, raising further concerns about Iranian operations against civilian infrastructure.

Another IRGC-linked unit, Shahid Shoostari, has previously been implicated in cyber operations against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, including a 2023 attack that compromised customer information.

France has summoned Iran’s ambassador and is pursuing further European sanctions.

The significance extends far beyond damaged supermarket refrigerators. This was an alleged state-directed cyber operation designed to interfere with physical infrastructure, with consequences including destroyed food, substantial financial losses and fires.

It demonstrates how cyberwarfare can reach directly into ordinary civilian life, targeting the systems on which food distribution, electricity generation and other essential services depend.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

For a thousand years Jews lived under Islamic rule. Professor Paul B. Fenton has spent his career reading what the documents from those centuries actually say.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

@EstherMcVey1 @ThePosieParker It is almost impossible to be eating kosher meat by accident in the UK. So few animals are slaughtered for Jewish consumption and kosher meat is labelled so Jews know they can eat it. It is done to order to satisfy the exact needs of the kosher meat market
https://t.co/4pOPjudWMC

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

@Glory2G_d @AkaLazarus I am very well thanks. Appreciate your concern and prayers :)

[The Spectator @spectator]

Earlier today, an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a French military airbase following a bomb threat, while three Ryanair flights bound for Bulgaria were also targeted.

This has happened amid a growing wave of bomb scares and cyberattacks disrupting essential infrastructure across Europe. So far, we do not know who or what is behind this wave of unconventional attacks, but their frequency is increasing.

The Aer Lingus aircraft, carrying 151 passengers and six crew, landed at Évreux military airbase in Normandy, where French military bomb-disposal teams were deployed. All aboard were reported safe.

Of the three Ryanair flights travelling to Sofia, the service from London was diverted to Plovdiv, while those from Madrid and Copenhagen landed in the Bulgarian capital.

✍️ Jonathan Sacerdoti

Article | https://t.co/bwTllLJkPW | @jonsac

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

BREAKING: An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome has been diverted to a French military airbase following a bomb threat, while three Ryanair flights bound for Bulgaria have also received threats today, amid a growing wave of similar incidents across Europe.

The Aer Lingus aircraft, carrying 151 passengers and six crew, landed at Évreux military airbase in Normandy, where French military bomb-disposal teams were deployed to inspect it. All those aboard were reported safe.

Three Ryanair flights travelling to Sofia from London, Madrid and Copenhagen were also targeted today. The London flight was diverted to Plovdiv, while the other two landed in Sofia.

The latest alerts follow an extraordinary series of similar incidents earlier this week. On Tuesday alone, seven flights were affected, including services from Heathrow to Warsaw, Copenhagen to Warsaw, Manchester to Murcia, Dublin and Lisbon to Rome, and Dublin and Bergamo to Sofia.

On Monday, a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia was diverted to Budapest under Hungarian fighter escort. On 18 October, an Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna was diverted to Sofia following another bomb threat, with Bulgarian fighter jets deployed.

The threats have forced emergency landings, military interceptions, runway closures and extensive security operations across several countries. No explosives were found in the earlier incidents.

The disruption has also extended beyond aviation. On Tuesday, the Israeli-operated cruise ship Crown Iris was evacuated at the Greek island of Syros following a telephone bomb threat. Its 940 passengers and 597 crew were taken off the vessel while security teams searched it. Nothing suspicious was found.

The growing pattern raises questions about whether Europe is facing a coordinated campaign of disruption rather than unrelated hoaxes. Different airlines, countries and routes have been targeted, repeatedly forcing costly security responses and the deployment of military resources.

Authorities have not identified those responsible or established any connection between the incidents. There is currently no evidence publicly attributing them to a particular state or organisation.

[The Spectator @spectator]

Iran has declared the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to be "terrorist organisations" and designated MI6 a "hostile group".

The measures, announced by Iran's Foreign Ministry following a decision by the Supreme National Security Council, took effect immediately.

Under Iranian law, the Royal Navy and RAF will be treated formally as terrorist organisations, while MI6 falls under legislation covering espionage and cooperation with states Tehran considers hostile. The temptation to laugh is great. Don’t. This is deadly serious.

✍️ Jonathan Sacerdoti

Article | https://t.co/N67SVv1TTW | @jonsac

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

Iran has declared Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force “terrorist organisations” and designated MI6 a “hostile group” — as British authorities confront a growing pattern of alleged Iranian operations inside the UK.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

BREAKING: Iran has declared Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force “terrorist organisations” and designated MI6 a “hostile group”.

Under the new measures, the Royal Navy and RAF are now formally treated as terrorist organisations under Iranian legislation, while MI6 falls within an Iranian law covering espionage and cooperation with states Tehran considers hostile.

The latest escalation comes as two men face prosecution over an alleged Iranian intelligence operation targeting RAF Fairford, the Gloucestershire base used by the US Air Force. All this came just days after Foreign Secretary Edward Miliband met Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in New York on 24 September, shaking his hand and posing for a photograph together at the UN General Assembly.

The new measures announced today by Iran’s Foreign Ministry today, follow a decision by Tehran’s Supreme National Security Council and took effect immediately.

Iran says it is retaliating against Britain for bringing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under the State Threats Act in July, and for what Tehran claims was UK assistance to US and Israeli military operations against Iran, including access to British-controlled bases and logistical facilities.

It is an extraordinary inversion of reality from the brutal Islamic regime whose Revolutionary Guards have been responsible for decades for sponsoring terrorism and destabilising activity abroad.

Meanwhile, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, a British couple in their 50s from from East Sussex, have been imprisoned in Iran for nearly two years, since January 2025. He is a carpenter and she is a psychologist/life coach. They are now serving 10-year sentences for espionage – charges they deny. Their appeal was rejected, and they remain in custody.

Their family met Foreign Secretary Edward Miliband on 27 October and is pressing Britain to go further, including formally declaring their detention arbitrary, granting diplomatic protection and considering action at the International Court of Justice.

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

Slavery was an evil in which people from every continent and region participated. We should be honest about the whole history, not select the parts that are politically convenient today, especially given Britain's leading role in ending the transatlantic slave trade.

If Caribbean countries are asking Britain for a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, will they also be asking the same of the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants who captured, sold and profited from the trade?

On demands for reparations, whether through cash or debt relief, we have been down this track before. Twenty-five years ago, Jubilee 2000, Drop the Debt and Make Poverty History argued that cancelling the debts of poorer countries would give them a fresh start. More than $100 billion of debt was eventually written off, but many of those countries have since built up even bigger debts. Labour are already spending too much on Britain's welfare state, now is not the time for Andy Burnham to be providing global welfare.

There is no reason British taxpayers today should be held financially responsible for things that happened generations before any of us were born. And I have even less patience for political elites in commonwealth countries who don’t know how to make their own citizens prosperous now looking for another opportunity to blame Britain.

As Prime Minister, Andy Burnham should be Britain’s greatest defender. Instead, he is writing articles saying we need to confront our history (as if we haven't done enough of that) and considering another formal historical apology. Tony Blair already expressed Britain’s deep sorrow and regret for our role in the slave trade nearly twenty years ago. There is no need to do so again.

This is all another navel-gazing distraction. The Commonwealth should be looking forward, not endlessly backwards. That means economic partnerships to make us all richer and deeper military and security cooperation against common threats. If every Commonwealth summit becomes an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash then we need to start asking if it is worth the effort.

[Hillel Neuer @HillelNeuer]

BREAKING: Switzerland suspends funding to Doctors Without Borders after it failed to report that its staff exploited refugee women and girls for sex—in exchange for aid, jobs and money. Previously, 🇨🇭 called MSF “a source of best practice and inspiration.” https://t.co/p8NopVkGuG

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

Netanyahu’s speech suggests that Israel and the USA are on course for an escalation with Iran, which will potentially influence coalition negotiations following the election result. Netanyahu is targeting the right-wing factions to encourage them away from aligning with Arab parties towards a right wing coalition.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

Netanyahu: we must establish a strong, right wing block.

It is forbidden to form a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties.

How can you talk about a coalition government when it includes members who serve the enemies of the state?

The Zionist majority must wake up and unite.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

In recent months, the BBC had to get rid of its Director General, head of News and now to pay £400,000 to a 22 year-long employee who made documentaries there. All at least partly because of its anti-Jewish, anti-Israel lies and falsehoods. It had a senior reporter broadcast fake news about a Palestinian rocket attack on a hospital in Gaza and obstinately say he didn't regret it when he was shown to be wrong, and made a documentary which secretly starred the son of a Hamas minister whose family it paid with money from the license fee.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

The BBC has agreed to pay £400,000 to an award-winning Jewish documentary-maker who alleged she was subjected to antisemitism and pushed out of the corporation after October 7.

Lucie Kon, 57, spent 22 years at the BBC and worked on programmes including Panorama, Today, BBC Breakfast and Storyville. Films she commissioned or helped produce won an Oscar, Emmy and Bafta.

Kon says her treatment changed dramatically after the Hamas attacks. She alleges colleagues described Zionists like her as “evil”, argued that Israel should be called terrorist if Hamas was, and told her to consider what had driven Hamas to carry out the massacre.

When she proposed a documentary about October 7, Kon says she was told she was “too partial” to oversee it because she was Jewish.

She subsequently filed a formal grievance, but a BBC investigation rejected her complaint. Kon says she was then kept away from work for months. During a restructuring, her position was made redundant and she failed to secure the similar role replacing it.

She launched unfair-dismissal proceedings.

The BBC has now agreed substantial compensation, reported as £400,000, without admitting liability or accepting that Kon suffered antisemitism.

Kon says Jewish employees still at the corporation continue to face hostility and feel unable to identify openly as Jewish or Zionist.

[Jonathan Sacerdoti @jonsac]

New details have been revealed about an alleged Iranian-linked plot to bomb Jewish targets in Manchester: prosecutors say the suspects were sent instructions for making a homemade explosive device by a contact believed to be based in Iran.

Iranian nationals Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, are charged with preparing acts of terrorism. Both intend to plead not guilty.

The Old Bailey heard that police allegedly observed the men photographing and filming Jewish sites in Manchester on the eve of Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day. Prosecutors say this was reconnaissance in preparation for a terrorist attack on Manchester’s Jewish community.

The alleged targets included the Manchester Jewish Museum and Heaton Park synagogue — where two Jewish worshippers were killed in a separate attack almost a year earlier.

Prosecutors allege that the pair were communicating with a third person believed to be in Iran, who sent them a document containing instructions for assembling an improvised explosive device from readily available materials.

The two men are due to stand trial in Manchester on 15 June next year.