Counterterrorism police detained five men near the American bomber hub in Britain as investigators examine potential foreign ties.
British counterterrorism police detained five men on terrorism charges near RAF Fairford on Sunday after officers intercepted them near the primary European airfield for American strategic bombers.
Authorities initially held the suspects on suspicion of offenses under Britain’s Explosives Act before arresting them on terrorism charges tied to the airfield in Gloucestershire. Three vans were reportedly present at the scene. British officials haven’t publicly named who planned the suspected attack or identified a motive.
President Donald Trump told reporters in Chicago on Sunday that American officials monitored the suspects prior to the arrests. “We had them under investigation,” Trump said. “They were looking to do big damage to our fort.” Trump added: “It may have been Scotland Yard. I don’t know. We worked with a lot of them. We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.”
Investigation into possible ties
Counterterrorism investigators are looking into whether Iran has ties to the suspected bomb plot, according to Sky News. Former Trump White House official Morgan Murphy said British agencies are running the investigation alongside American intelligence and law enforcement, including the FBI in London and Air Force investigators stationed at the base.
RAF Fairford took on heightened strategic importance during the war with Iran. The British government previously permitted U.S. military forces to use Fairford and Diego Garcia for limited defensive strikes against Iranian missile sites and launchers. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded by warning that “any base used to launch attacks on Iranian territory is a legitimate target for our forces,” and Tehran warned London in July to keep American bombers away from the airfield. A local councilor told Reuters that a specific Iranian threat against the installation roughly six weeks earlier had prompted officials to step up surveillance.
Security levels raised across bases
Former Defense Intelligence Agency official Andrew Badger said the involvement of five suspects and three reported vans indicated a potentially coordinated effort instead of an amateur lone-wolf plot. Badger said reports showed RAF Fairford was put on Delta alert, the highest military security condition, which signifies an imminent terrorist attack.
Badger said security protocols will rise across American installations worldwide. He pointed out that RAF Welford, a nearby ammunition depot that stores munitions for Fairford operations and serves as the second-largest weapons depot in Europe, could also have been a target. While Badger noted Iran might have acted to build leverage in talks, he cautioned that other groups could be responsible, including Russian hybrid warfare operations or Islamic extremists in the U.K.
