UK-Iranian man arrested in RAF Fairford terrorism investigation

What happened

Counter-terrorism detectives have made a sixth arrest in their investigation into a suspected plot near RAF Fairford, detaining a 27-year-old man with British and Iranian citizenship in Westminster on Thursday.

Officers arrested him on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006. Police also interviewed a British man aged 26 under caution and searched two Westminster properties as the investigation extended further into London.

The operation follows the arrest of five men near the Gloucestershire airbase in the early hours of Sunday. Those men, all British nationals aged between 23 and 25, were initially detained on suspicion of explosives offences and subsequently on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism.

The five were released on police bail on Monday. Four live in Westminster and the fifth in Camden. Officers searched their homes as part of the inquiries into their presence near the military site.

Sunday's security operation began after concerns were raised about three vans in Whelford, a village close to the base. A farmer returning from a party at about 1am saw masked men near the vehicles and contacted the emergency services.

One of the five men subsequently arrested had also called 999, about an hour before the farmer's call. That earlier contact emerged on Tuesday, adding another element to the sequence detectives are examining around the overnight incident.

Searches of the vans uncovered petrol, but officers found no explosive devices. Examination of the vehicles and searches at London addresses did not identify a viable device. Armed officers established roadblocks and carried out security checks around the airbase during Sunday's response.

The background

RAF Fairford is operated by the US Air Force and has served for decades as a forward operating location. Its role gives the events in the surrounding Gloucestershire countryside significance for both British security authorities and the United States.

In recent months, American bombers have departed from Fairford for the Middle East. Those flights followed Britain's approval of a US request to use the airbase for defensive strikes against Iran, placing the installation within the wider military confrontation involving Tehran.

Security tensions around the base had already intensified in July, when Iran's Revolutionary Guards described Fairford as a legitimate target. That threat forms part of the background to the current inquiry, which includes examining whether a foreign state had any involvement.

The vans carried markings associated with a genuine fuel transport business. The company denied that the vehicles belonged to it. Investigators are examining why the men and vehicles were in the countryside near a sensitive military installation during the night.

Ministers have also received briefings about Iran's use of intermediaries for disruptive activity. Those briefings describe several possible motives, including draining security resources and creating disorder, and explain that people recruited to act as proxies can sometimes be unaware of whom they are ultimately serving.

What people are saying

Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, described an intricate investigation involving specialist teams pursuing several avenues. She said detectives were examining potential foreign-state involvement alongside other explanations and thanked members of the public for their patience and assistance.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday that there were substantial indications of an Iranian role. He stressed that the police inquiry remained active and serious, while declining to set out the intelligence or other details behind his assessment.

Burnham convened a meeting of Cobra, the government's crisis committee, on Monday, with senior police and security officials attending. He was in Liverpool for the Labour Party conference. Concern among investigators about a possible Iranian connection was a key factor behind the meeting.

Addressing questions about the five men's release, the prime minister said they were subject to particularly stringent bail conditions. He sought to reassure the public that the authorities retained close oversight of the situation rather than treating release from custody as an end to their work.

Iran's embassy in London has rejected any connection to the incident and condemned suggestions of Iranian involvement. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately challenged Burnham's assessment on Wednesday and criticised the decision to grant the suspects bail.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that he believed an overseas actor was involved. President Donald Trump was among senior American politicians who expressed surprise at the release of the five men from custody.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had passed intelligence to Britain warning of an attack backed by Iran. He linked that claim to his criticism of Britain's subsequent restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The trade ban, announced last month in response to settlement expansion, had already prompted a diplomatic dispute.

What happens next

Counter-terrorism officers are continuing to examine the circumstances of Sunday's events and the possible connections between the people under investigation. The five men detained near Fairford remain on police bail while that work continues.

Police described the decision to release them as a deliberate investigative step informed by operational judgement. It followed examination of the material recovered from the vans and the searches of properties associated with the men, rather than ending the investigation into the suspected activity.

The preparation offence under section 5 concerns conduct undertaken with the intention of committing acts of terrorism or helping another person commit them. It can therefore apply to alleged preparatory activity before an attack takes place; an investigation under that provision does not require a completed attack.

An arrest on suspicion of that offence is not a finding of guilt. Equally, questioning someone under caution is an investigative procedure, not a conviction. These distinctions are important because the latest police action involves both an arrest and a separate interview under caution.

Police bail allows an investigation to proceed while a suspect is outside custody, subject to any conditions imposed. Decisions about an eventual prosecution are separate: prosecutors must assess whether the evidence provides a realistic prospect of conviction and whether bringing a case is in the public interest.

Why this matters

For people living near Fairford, the operation caused immediate disruption. Eighty-five households were evacuated on Sunday as bomb disposal specialists and counter-terrorism officers worked in Whelford. Residents had to leave their homes while emergency services dealt with the suspected threat.

Some stayed with relatives, while about 60 people received assistance at a Cotswold District Council rest centre in Cirencester. Another part of the response involved arranging hotel accommodation overnight for 28 people, showing the practical demands that a major security operation places on local support services.