By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-28 16:46:58 | Updated at 2026-09-28 21:02:44
5 hours ago
British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said on Monday it is “premature” to speculate on whether the arrest of five people near an airbase used by the U.S. Air Force on Sunday was linked to Iran.
Counterterrorism police have said the five men arrested on Sunday near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire were all British nationals from the London area and were aged between 23 and 25.
They were detained after a local farmer called the police and reported that three large white vans were heading toward the airfield in Gloucestershire, in the west of England.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday those involved had been looking to do “big damage” to RAF Fairford, which has been used by U.S. bombers involved in the conflict in the Middle East.
Trump also said those arrested had been “under investigation.”
RAF Fairford is home to USAF’s 501st Combat Support Wing headquarters and the 420th Air Base Squadron, and serves as the “preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe” for USAF Global Strike Command.
The RAF said the base’s annual airshow in July was canceled in May because “the escalating geopolitical situation in the Middle East has required a significant increase in real-world operational missions out of RAF Fairford.”
“It’s premature to speculate on these individuals and their motives, and there’s a live investigation ongoing,” Streeting said.
“So let’s put that to one side, and let me just address the specifics of the Iranian threat to this country.”
Iran Wishes to ‘Do Us Harm’: Streeting
“We know that Iran and their proxies wish to do us harm, 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,” Streeting said.
Last week, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told his Iranian counterpart, during a meeting at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, that Britain would “not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil.”
The Metropolitan Police said that at 12.45 a.m. local time on Sunday, police received a call about “three suspicious vehicles” that appeared to be traveling toward the air base.
“Armed officers responded, and five men were arrested in the Whelford area on suspicion of committing offenses under the Explosives Act,” the police added.
The five men, none of whom have been named, were then arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.
The head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, announced on Monday afternoon that the five men were being released on bail pending further police enquiries.
“To be very clear, this does not mean the investigation is over,” he said. “They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contacts with others.”
“They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry,” Taylor said.
He said he was aware of speculation about whether the “current geopolitical context” has a bearing on Sunday’s incident, and he said the police were keeping an “open mind.”
“But be assured that we are examining this from every possible angle, including that this may be actively committed by proxy, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state,” Taylor said.
The Iranian Embassy in London issued a statement on X denying involvement in the RAF Fairford incident.
“The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations published by some British individuals and media outlets attempting to link Iran to the arrest of five suspects in the vicinity of RAF Fairford base,” it said.
Iranians Claim ‘Fabricated Speculations’
“The circulation of such fabricated speculations, particularly in the aftermath of the criminal acts of aggression committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian people, will serve no purpose other than to fuel Iranophobia propaganda in the UK,” the embassy added.
Counter-drone equipment is deployed during a suspected terrorist incident at the RAF Fairford airbase, in Fairford, England, on Sept. 27, 2026. Toby Shepheard/Reuters
Earlier, Streeting thanked the member of the public who called in on Sunday after seeing suspicious activity.
A local farmer told the BBC that they alerted the police after seeing a group of “hooded and masked men” running into some fields near three white vans.
“Within 10 minutes the village was full of armed police. I think it was pure luck that I arrived in the village at a similar time to the vans,” the farmer said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
