The British police questioned five men on Monday (September 28, 2026) on suspicion of explosives-related and terrorism offences after they were detained near an air base that has been used by the U.S. to strike Iran.
U.S. Armed police stood guard at the main entrance while large machinery was used to block other access points. Security was also stepped up at other U.S. bases in Britain.
Officers detained the men in the early hours of Sunday (September 27, 2026) after they received a tip-off that three large white vans had been seen heading to the military airfield of Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford in western England. In Fairford, the police have imposed a 400-metre cordon around the base and evacuated residents from 85 homes.
President Donald Trump said the suspects had been looking to do “big damage” and had been under investigation by British and U.S. authorities. However, a local farmer said she had tipped off the police after seeing a group of “hooded and masked men” running into the fields. The government has said Prime Minister Andy Burnham is being regularly updated on the incident, and he cancelled at least two of his engagements at the Labour Party’s annual conference on Sunday. A bomb disposal robot could be seen on Sunday operating around the three white vans, while security was stepped up around the base.
British counterterrorism detectives have not yet publicly said who they believed was involved, but a source familiar with the investigation said an Iranian-linked motive was considered most likely, while a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist plot was also being examined.
Defence Minister Wes Streeting told BBC News on Monday that he would not speculate about the motives of a live investigation. We know that they hate our democracy, and we know that we regularly have to thwart Iranian attempts to threaten either our interests or indeed our allies.”
On the general Iranian threat to the country, he said, “We know that Iran and their proxies wish to do us harm.
