UK Police Release Five Men on Bail After Suspected Plot Near US-Used Airbase

LONDON: British police have released five men on bail after questioning them over a suspected plot involving RAF Fairford, a UK airbase used by the United States for military operations against Iran.

The five men, all British nationals from London aged between 23 and 25, were arrested early Sunday after police received a report about three suspicious white vans and a group of hooded and masked men near the base. They were initially arrested on suspicion of explosives-related offences and later on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.

UK Counter Terrorism Policing said the suspects remain under investigation and are subject to stringent conditions governing their movement and contact with others. Authorities stressed that their release does not mean the investigation has ended.

Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said investigators were examining the incident from “every possible angle,” including the possibility that individuals may have been acting as proxies for a foreign state, either knowingly or unknowingly.

The investigation has raised questions over possible foreign involvement. US officials, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have suggested that a foreign actor may have been involved. However, British authorities have not publicly attributed the incident to any particular country.

Iran’s embassy in London has categorically denied any involvement, rejecting what it described as unfounded speculation linking Tehran to the arrests.

Police were alerted after a local farmer reported seeing the suspicious vehicles and masked individuals near RAF Fairford. Authorities subsequently established a 400-metre security cordon and evacuated residents from around 85 homes in the nearby village of Whelford while military explosive-ordnance specialists examined the vehicles. Residents were later allowed to return home.

RAF Fairford has been used by US forces for operations against Iran and is one of the few European airfields capable of supporting US heavy bombers. The site has previously been identified as a potential target by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The investigation remains ongoing as British authorities examine the circumstances surrounding the incident and any possible links to foreign actors.