US federal prosecutors have charged Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah commander Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi with terrorism-related offenses, alleging he directed the March 10, 2026, shooting at the US consulate in Toronto and a subsequent attack on a synagogue in the city.
Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior commander in the Iran-backed militia, was arrested, extradited to the United States, and charged Friday with six terrorism-related offenses tied to attacks on American and Jewish targets in North America and Europe.
In a complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors alleged that al-Saadi admitted to an undercover law enforcement officer that his “people” carried out the attacks in Canada.
US authorities linked al-Saadi to nearly 20 attacks and alleged plots across Europe and North America, including arson attacks and firebombings targeting Jewish institutions and American interests. Investigators said many of the operations were conducted under the name Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.
The March 10 shooting targeted the US Consulate General in downtown Toronto during the early morning hours. The attack caused property damage but no injuries.
The incident took place amid a series of shootings targeting synagogues in the Toronto area during March, prompting Canada’s federal Incident Response Group to examine the country’s domestic security situation.
On March 2, gunfire struck the Temple Emanu-El synagogue after Purim celebrations had concluded, leaving multiple bullet holes in the building’s front windows.
Additional shootings followed on March 6 at the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto, known as the BAYT, and on March 7 at the Shaarei Shomayim synagogue.
Toronto Police Service and York Regional Police announced May 6 that an 18-year-old man had been charged in connection with the latter two synagogue shootings.
Federal prosecutors also accused al-Saadi of involvement in a plot targeting three Jewish sites in the United States.
Kata’ib Hezbollah is widely regarded as a proxy of the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
