UK counterterrorism police have rearrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence following a September 27 security incident at RAF Fairford. British officials, including Prime Minister Andy Burnham, state that Iran's Revolutionary Guard likely directed the plot near the air base used by U.S. bombers for strikes on Iran. While Iran denies involvement, the incident prompted the U.S. to pull its B-1 bombers from the base.
RAF Fairford security incident
- ▪Police initially responded to three suspicious vans traveling toward RAF Fairford at 00:45 BST on September 27, 2026, leading to local home evacuations and a major incident declaration.
- ▪British counterterrorism police rearrested a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national on October 20, 2026, on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence.
- ▪Army bomb disposal experts examined the three vans near RAF Fairford and found a quantity of petrol accelerant, but no improvised explosive devices.
Iranian intelligence involvement
- ▪Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor stated counterterrorism police consider it highly likely there was Iranian state involvement in the September 2026 RAF Fairford incident.
- ▪UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was almost certainly behind the September 2026 security incident near RAF Fairford.
- ▪Iranian officials and the Iranian Embassy in London categorically denied any Iranian state involvement in the RAF Fairford incident.
National Security Act charges
- ▪The suspects had originally been arrested on suspicion of Explosives Act and Terrorism Act offences before being released on police bail prior to their October 20 rearrests.
- ▪The October 20, 2026 rearrest of the two men was executed under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023 for conduct likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service.
US bomber withdrawal
- ▪The United States had been flying B-1 and B-52 bombers from RAF Fairford to conduct strikes against targets in Iran after receiving UK authorization.
- ▪Following the September 27 incident, the United States Air Force withdrew its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford back to the United States.
UK counterterrorism investigation
- ▪MI5 Director General Ken McCallum warned that Tehran has stepped up operations targeting UK military sites, leading to over 50 Iran-linked arrests in the UK over the past year.
- ▪A total of seven men were arrested during the broader investigation into the RAF Fairford incident, with five remaining on police bail as of October 20, 2026.
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