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Counter Terrorism Policing says five men arrested near RAF Fairford have been released on bail with restrictions on their movements and contact with others. The investigation continues, while Iran denies any involvement in the suspected plot.
Five men arrested near RAF Fairford over a suspected terror plot have been released on police bail following extensive interviews, but remain under investigation and face strict conditions on their movements and contact with others.
Counter Terrorism Inquiry Continues
Counter Terrorism Policing Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said the inquiry was continuing along multiple lines and was not over. The men, British nationals aged between 23 and 25 who live in London, were arrested before dawn on Sunday near the air base in Gloucestershire. Police said they were being held on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and preparing a terrorist act contrary to the Terrorism Act.
The arrests have prompted debate over the scale and source of the suspected threat. Concerns included the possibility that the airfield could have been bombed, while some speculation focused on whether Iran was involved. British ministers and police officials cautioned against drawing conclusions about who may have been behind the incident. Police were called after a farmer encountered the group while driving along a local road.
She said she saw men wearing black balaclavas at about 1.30am on Sunday, or 10.30am AEST, and contacted authorities. Residents also reported seeing masked men running towards the base's secure area, and images of the arrests were shared online. Police confirmed later on Sunday that five men had been arrested and detained. Media coverage showed a bomb disposal robot examining three white vans that had been driven to the scene by the suspects.
Threat Speculation and Police Response
Local police initially described the arrests as being on suspicion of explosives offences before Counter Terrorism Policing took over the investigation. US President Donald Trump said hours after the arrests that the suspects had been under surveillance for a long time and were trying to do big damage to the base. His remarks intensified questions in Britain about the nature of the threat, particularly after it emerged that a farmer had made the first report to police.
Taylor said the men had been released after extensive interviews, but stressed that this did not mean the investigation was over. He said they remained under investigation as police explored multiple lines of enquiry, and were subject to stringent restrictions on where they could go and whom they could contact. Taylor also said the case might have involved proxies: people hired to work on behalf of a foreign state, either knowingly or unknowingly.
His comment did not identify any state as being connected to the arrests, and police have cautioned against speculation about the source of the suspected threat. The arrests have also drawn attention to the base's use by the United States. Iran had said in March that the American use of the British base was a very important matter for Tehran to consider when deciding how to strike back and defend itself.
Iran Denies Involvement in Arrests
RAF Fairford has been used by the US to strike Iran, according to reporting on the incident. On Monday, Iran's embassy denied that the Iranian government had any role in the incident and rejected claims of its involvement. It said that circulating what it called fabricated speculation, particularly after what it described as criminal acts of aggression by the United States and Israel against the Iranian people, would only fuel Iranophobia propaganda in the UK.
The embassy also said Iran reserved the right to take appropriate legal measures, if necessary, to protect the rights and interests of the country and its people in response to what it called misleading and damaging media narratives. The investigation into the five men's actions and motives remains ongoing.
brisbanetimes
smh:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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