British counterterrorism authorities have re-arrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service, following an investigation into a security incident at a United States-run military installation in England last month. Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK announced the latest arrests, specifying that the suspects include a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national. Both men were detained under the provisions of the National Security Act.
The investigation centers on an incident at RAF Fairford, an airbase located in Gloucestershire in western England. The facility has been utilized to launch strikes on Iran during this year’s conflict. The two suspects were initially arrested late last month—one on September 27, when the suspected plot occurred, and the second on October 1. Following their initial detentions, both men had been released on police bail while detectives continued their inquiries before being re-arrested.
Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK, described the ongoing inquiry as hugely complex and noted that detectives are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry. Taylor stated that authorities consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement in the matter, adding that investigators are working to determine the precise level of involvement and the underlying ambition of the plot.
The security alert began when British police declared a major incident in the rural area surrounding RAF Fairford after a member of the public reported seeing three suspicious vans driving near the perimeter of the base. The report triggered a significant emergency response, forcing local residents to evacuate their homes as armed police officers and army bomb-disposal experts deployed to the scene. Authorities subsequently searched the three vans and discovered a quantity of petrol, which functions as an accelerant, though no actual explosives were located at the site.
The disruption at the base had immediate operational consequences, prompting the United States military to withdraw its bombers from RAF Fairford. British political and security leadership quickly pointed toward foreign direction. Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that the apparent plot was almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Domestic security leadership warned that the Fairford incident is part of a broader pattern of hostile activity. Ken McCallum, head of the UK’s domestic intelligence service, cautioned that both Iran and Russia are expanding attacks and reconnaissance against military installations across the United Kingdom, emphasizing that the Gloucestershire incident is not an isolated event. According to intelligence figures cited by McCallum, more than 50 individuals have been arrested in connection with Iran-linked plots over the past year alone.
Thus far, five other men in their 20s have been arrested in connection with the broader investigation and subsequently released on bail pending further inquiries. To date, formal charges have not been brought against any of the suspects. The Iranian government has denied any involvement in the plot, although Tehran has previously maintained that it considers any military base used to launch attacks against its territory to be a legitimate target.
