British counter-terrorism police have rearrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service, moving forward with an investigation into a security incident at a U.S.-run air base in western England last month.
Authorities stated that the suspects include a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual U.K.-Iranian national. Both individuals were taken back into custody under the National Security Act after having been previously arrested and subsequently released on bail while detectives continued gathering evidence.
The investigation centers on a suspected plot on September 27 targeting RAF Fairford, a military facility utilized by U.S. forces. The base has served as a launch point for bombing operations against Iran during the ongoing military conflict this year.
The initial incident triggered a major emergency response, prompting the evacuation of scores of residents from their homes near the rural facility. Armed police officers and military bomb-disposal experts swarmed the area as authorities investigated potential threats. Investigators later confirmed that they discovered a quantity of gasoline, serving as an accelerant, located inside three vans at the site, though no explosives were found.
Five other men previously arrested in connection with the case remain on police bail, and formal criminal charges have not yet been brought against any of the suspects.
Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the United Kingdom, emphasized the scale of the ongoing inquiry. Detectives are actively pursuing numerous lines of inquiry within what he described as a hugely complex investigation.
“This is very much a live investigation, and our evidence gathering continues, but at this time our position remains the same; we consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement,” Taylor said in a public statement. He added that investigators are working to determine the exact extent of that involvement and the specific ambitions behind the plot.
British authorities have publicly linked Tehran to the security breach. The incident prompted a direct operational shift by the United States military, which subsequently removed all of its bombers from RAF Fairford earlier this month.
Iranian officials have maintained throughout the conflict that any military installations used to conduct attacks against their country will be treated as legitimate targets. However, the Iranian Embassy in London previously issued a statement categorically rejecting and strongly condemning what it termed unfounded and malicious speculations attempting to connect Tehran to the incident.
