Two men have been re-arrested by British counter terrorism police over the alleged attempted Iranian-backed attack on an important U.S. Air Force base in the United Kingdom.
A 24-year-old British citizen and a 25-year-old British-Iranian dual national have been arrested by counter terrorism police on ” suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service” in relation to events at the RAF Fairford airbase last month. Both men had previously been arrested and then bailed, the 24-year-old male at Fairford itself on September 27th when police discovered a group of men and vehicles acting suspiciously near the perimeter, and the 26-year-old days later in London.
Counter Terror Police said in a statement the men are being held under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023 and that the country they are suspected of assisting is Iran.
A spokesman for the terror cops acknowledged the investigation was taking time, explaining this was because of its “sensitive nature” , and that a lot remained obscure to the public. They said: “We know the public have unanswered questions. I want to be as transparent as possible and when we are in the position to share more, we will.”
Police said: “As a result of the ongoing efforts of our officers, earlier today two of those men were re-arrested for offences relating to Section 3 of the National Security Act – assisting a foreign intelligence service. This is very much a live investigation, and our evidence gathering continues, but at this time our position remains the same; we consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement.”
As previously reported, a group of five men were arrested on the perimeter of RAF Fairford, a defacto U.S. Air Force base in Gloucestershire, England, in the early hours of September 27th. Subsequent arrests took the number to seven, but all were subsequently — until now — bailed pending further investigations. While it is not clear what form any plot to attack the military facility would have taken, it has been made repeatedly clear that Iran was believed to be involved and the U.S. administration has hinted at a possible Ukraine drone strike-style incident.
Days after the initial arrests, the base — which had been used by the U.S.A.F. to launch strikes against Iran — was evacuated of its entire bomber wing, which returned unannounced back to the United States. Despite the move to pull the B-1 bombers away from the alleged threat in Britain by the U.S., and arrests of further foreign males found at a separate U.S. air base on British soil, the British authorities subsequently went on to insist its bases are safe.