UK examines foreign state involvement in suspected airbase plot, releases suspects

FAIRFORD, England – British police said on Monday, September 28, they were investigating whether individuals acting for a foreign state were involved in an apparent plot to attack an airbase used by the United States but said five suspects they had arrested would be released on bail.

The five men, all British nationals from London in their early 20s, were detained early on Sunday, September 27, after police were alerted by a local farmer about three white vans driving towards RAF Fairford, a British base that houses US bombers that fly missions against Iran.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in July the base was a legitimate target.

Laurence Taylor, who heads Britain’s counter-terrorism police, said the men, who had been arrested on suspicion of explosives offenses and planning a terrorist act, would be released under stringent bail conditions on Monday.

Investigation is not over

“To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over,” Taylor said in a statement outside London police headquarters. “They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of enquiry.”

US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that the incident “might be” connected to Iran, adding that he would not have released the suspects on bail. “I wouldn’t have done that,” he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was a foreign actor involved, without providing evidence or specifying details.

“What happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation. It’s one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor. I won’t get into great detail about that yet,” Rubio said on the Fox News network’s “Hannity” program late on Monday.

A source familiar with the investigation had told Reuters that an Iranian-linked motive was considered the most likely, although a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist plot were also being looked at as possibilities.

Iran’s embassy in London had earlier said in a statement it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” that it was involved, which it said would fuel “Iranophobia propaganda” in Britain.

Taylor, who did not specifically refer to Iran, said he knew there was significant interest in whether the current geopolitical context had a bearing on this incident.

“Be assured, we are considering this from every possible angle, including that this may be actively committed by proxies or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state.”

Police remain at scene

Taylor said the three white vans had been subject to extensive examination, with the support of the military and forensic experts, and police still had “significant resources deployed at the scene.”

Trump said on Sunday that the suspects had been looking to do “big damage” and had been under investigation by British and US authorities. However, doubts were voiced in British media about the degree to which they had been under surveillance, given how close they had come to the base.

The source familiar with the investigation said the arrests were not “intelligence-led,” although security had been heightened at the base, suggesting authorities were aware of an increased threat.

The farmer who alerted the police told reporters she had seen a group of “hooded and masked men” running into fields. The farmer, who has not been identified, said she believed it was her phone call to the 999 emergency hotline that foiled any plot and that she thought she had seen up to 10 people at the scene.

Defence minister Wes Streeting told the BBC the farmer had only a “partial picture” of the investigation, without providing further clarification.

“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.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee.

Terrorism threat severe

Britain raised its national terrorism threat level to its second highest level in April after a series of antisemitic incidents in north London, meaning an attack is considered highly likely.

Police said they were investigating links with Iran to many of those incidents in which properties connected to the Jewish community or Iranian dissidents were targeted.

After the Fairford arrests, the US embassy issued a security alert saying US citizens should exercise caution and be “mindful of personal security”. Security was stepped up at other US airbases in Britain.

The British government had given authorisation to the US to use bombers based at Fairford to strike Iranian missile sites attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

In Fairford, police imposed a 400-metre cordon around the base and evacuated residents from 85 homes in the nearby village of Whelford.

“Thanks to the excellent work of the army’s explosive ordnance disposal team, the scene is now safe, and the residents of Whelford will shortly be returning home,” British interior minister Shabana Mahmood said. – Rappler.com