Dual UK-Iranian national arrested over security incident at US-run air base in England

Scores of residents were evacuated from their homes near the base as armed police officers and army bomb-disposal experts swooped on the rural area. Police later said they had found a quantity of an accelerant – gasoline – in three vans linked to the five suspects, but no explosives.

Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counter terrorism policing, said the investigation “is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of inquiry.

“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles — including possible foreign state involvement,” she said.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the U.K. sees “strong indications” that Iran played a part in the incident. He did not provide details about what the suspects were planning or why the U.K. thinks Iran was involved.

Iran denies involvement. It has previously said that it considers any base used to attack its territory a legitimate target.

RAF Fairford, 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of London, has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including this year’s war with Iran.

Top U.S. officials have criticized the decision to grant five suspects bail, with President Donald Trump saying “I wouldn’t have done that” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying a lot of people were “disturbed” by the move.

Trump said Thursday that “I was surprised they were released on bail.”

“I have a lot of respect, however, for Scotland Yard. I think they know what they’re doing. But I was a little bit surprised,” Trump said as he left the White House to fly to Texas.

Burnham said authorities have the investigation under “the strongest grip and the closest control,” and British officials had been “talking to counterparts in the United States all week to explain what is happening here, how things are being done.”

The arrests came at a time of heightened tensions around the threat from hostile states, with British security services saying Russia and Iran have both used proxies to commit crimes on U.K. soil. British officials have said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states, including Iran, increased by 50% in the six months to December 2025.

U.K. officials say proxies linked to Iran have been behind a string of arsons and other attacks in Britain and other countries, many of them targeting the Jewish community and intended to sow fear. They have previously warned that Tehran could expand its targets in the U.K. if conflicts in the Middle East continue.

Jill Lawless And Pan Pylas, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Dual UK-Iranian national arrested over security incident at US-run air base in England

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