UK police rearrest two men over suspected Iranian plot on RAF Fairford

Two men rearrested on suspicion of assisting Iran

British counterterrorism police rearrested two men on Tuesday, 20 October, after releasing them on bail. The pair, a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national, are both from Westminster in London. They are suspected of assisting a foreign intelligence service under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023, and the police statement said the country the investigation relates to is Iran. Both had first been arrested in connection with an alleged terror plot at RAF Fairford, the Gloucestershire air base that the United States uses for its bombers.

What happened at Fairford on 27 September

Police were alerted shortly after midnight on 27 September to three suspicious vehicles near the base. Officers declared a serious incident, sent bomb disposal teams to the nearby village, and dozens of homes were evacuated. Five men were found with petrol in three vans and were first arrested under explosives legislation before being detained on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Police later said no homemade explosive had been found in the vehicles, and the men were released on bail.

A second suspect was arrested in Westminster on 1 October, and a 22-year-old British man was arrested in Westminster on 6 October. Seven men have now been arrested in total in the investigation.

Police and government position

Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, described the inquiry as hugely complex and said detectives were pursuing many lines of enquiry. He said the investigation was still live and that evidence gathering was continuing.

This is very much a live investigation, and our evidence gathering continues.

Taylor added that police considered Iranian involvement highly likely, and that investigators were still establishing how deep that involvement went and what the ambition behind it was. Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the House of Commons on 12 October that the operation was very likely coordinated from Tehran. Iran has rejected any involvement and has previously said it regards any base used to attack its territory as a legitimate target.

We consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement.

Ken McCallum, the head of the UK's domestic intelligence service, warned that Iran and Russia were expanding attacks against military bases in the UK and said the Fairford incident was not unique. He said more than 50 people had been arrested over Iran-linked plots in the past year.

Bail, bombers and the investigation's scope

Five of the seven men remain on police bail, while the two rearrested on 20 October are in custody under the national security law. Investigators are reportedly weighing scenarios that range from arson to a plan for unarmed men to drive vans toward the base to spread panic, according to British officials cited by the Washington Post.

The incident came as the United States was using RAF Fairford to send B-1 and B-52 bombers toward the Middle East during the war with Iran. According to NRC, the United States withdrew twelve B-1 bombers from the base after the incident. President Donald Trump said the aircraft were moved because of some threat to the base, without giving details, and Vice President J.D. Vance said the move was a precaution.