FAIRFORD, England – British police said on Monday they were investigating whether individuals acting for a foreign state were involved in an apparent plot to attack an airbase used by the United States but said five suspects they had arrested would be released on bail. The five men, all British nationals from London in their early 20s, were detained early on Sunday after police were alerted by a local farmer about three white vans driving towards RAF Fairford, a British base that houses U.S. bombers that fly missions against Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in July the base was a legitimate target.
Laurence Taylor, who heads Britain’s counter-terrorism police, said the men, who had been arrested on suspicion of explosives offenses and planning a terrorist act, would be released under stringent bail conditions on Monday. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that the incident “might be” connected to Iran, adding that he would not have released the suspects on bail. A source familiar with the investigation said that an Iranian-linked motive was considered the most likely, although a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist plot were also being looked at as possibilities.
Iran’s embassy in London had earlier said in a statement it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” that it was involved, which it said would fuel “Iranophobia propaganda” in Britain. Taylor, who did not specifically refer to Iran, said he knew there was significant interest in whether the current geopolitical context had a bearing on this incident. However, doubts were voiced in British media about the degree to which they had been under surveillance, given how close they had come to the base.
The source familiar with the investigation said the arrests were not “intelligence-led,” although security had been heightened at the base, suggesting authorities were aware of an increased threat. The farmer who alerted the police told reporters she had seen a group of “hooded and masked men” running into fields. The farmer, who has not been identified, said she believed it was her phone call to the 999 emergency hotline that foiled any plot and that she thought she had seen up to 10 people at the scene.
Defense minister Wes Streeting told the BBC the farmer had only a “partial picture” of the investigation, without providing further clarification. We know that they hate our democracy, and we know that we regularly have to thwart Iranian attempts to threaten either our interests or indeed our allies,” Streeting said. Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee.
Britain raised its national terrorism threat level to its second highest level in April after a series of antisemitic incidents in north London, meaning an attack is considered highly likely. Police said they were investigating links with Iran to many of those incidents in which properties connected to the Jewish community or Iranian dissidents were targeted. After the Fairford arrests, the U.S. embassy issued a security alert saying U.S. citizens should exercise caution and be “mindful of personal security.” Security was stepped up at other U.S. airbases in Britain.
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