By Beenish Rashid — SCN News
LONDON — British counter-terrorism police arrested a dual UK-Iranian national in London on Thursday as investigators widened their inquiry into suspicious activity near RAF Fairford, the strategically important British air base used by U.S. bombers during operations against Iran.
The 27-year-old man was arrested in Westminster on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts under Section 5 of Britain's Terrorism Act 2006, Counter Terrorism Policing said. A second man, a 26-year-old British national, was questioned under caution, while officers searched two properties in the same area of London. The development brings a new dimension to an investigation that began after five British men were detained near RAF Fairford on Sunday.
Police emphasized that the investigation remains complex and that multiple explanations are being examined, including possible involvement by a foreign state. The arrest of a British-Iranian dual national does not by itself establish Iranian government involvement, and authorities have not publicly accused the arrested man of acting for Tehran. Iran has denied involvement in the Fairford incident and has objected strongly to suggestions from British officials that it may have played a role.
The investigation began after police received information about three suspicious vans near the Gloucestershire base in the early hours of Sunday. Five British men in their 20s were arrested near Whelford on suspicion of offences involving explosives and later on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. They were subsequently released on police bail under stringent conditions and remain under investigation.
Detectives later confirmed that petrol had been discovered in the vans but said investigators found no improvised explosive device. That finding left significant questions about what the men were doing near the base and what, if anything, they intended to carry out. Counter-terrorism investigators have continued examining communications, movements and other evidence while attempting to determine whether the incident involved a wider network.
Thursday's arrest is significant because it comes as investigators increasingly examine whether the events around Fairford had an international dimension. Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing Vicki Evans said specialist teams were pursuing multiple lines of inquiry and specifically confirmed that possible foreign-state involvement remained among the angles being investigated.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham went further on Wednesday, saying there were “strong indications” that Iran had played a part in the incident while stressing that the investigation remained active and complex. Britain has been coordinating closely with the United States because RAF Fairford is used by the U.S. military and has assumed increased strategic importance during the confrontation with Iran.
Tehran has rejected the British allegations as baseless. Iran summoned the British ambassador on Thursday in response to the accusations, escalating what began as a domestic counter-terrorism investigation into a diplomatic dispute between London and Tehran. Iranian officials have demanded that Britain avoid making accusations before investigators establish what happened.
RAF Fairford's role makes the foreign-state question particularly sensitive. Located in Gloucestershire in western England, the base is a forward operating location for U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command and can accommodate American long-range bombers. U.S. aircraft operating from Fairford have been used during the conflict involving Iran, giving the installation significance beyond Britain's domestic defense infrastructure.
Security around the facility was increased after Sunday's incident, which prompted a major police response and precautionary evacuations in the surrounding area. Bomb-disposal specialists examined vehicles associated with the suspects while investigators worked to determine whether there was an immediate threat to the base. The absence of an explosive device has not ended the terrorism investigation because authorities are examining suspected preparations as well as any potential links among those involved.
The case has also generated unusually public pressure from Washington. President Donald Trump said the original suspects had intended to cause “big damage” and questioned their release on bail, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio pointed publicly toward possible foreign involvement. British police have taken a more cautious position, emphasizing that releasing suspects on bail does not end an investigation and that conclusions about responsibility have not yet been reached.
The five men arrested Sunday therefore remain part of the inquiry despite being outside custody. Thursday's arrest adds another suspect while investigators also question the second British man and examine the two London properties. Police have not disclosed what evidence led them to the dual national or whether he had direct contact with the five men detained near Fairford.
That unanswered connection is now central to the investigation. If detectives establish that the individuals near the base were connected to someone acting for or at the direction of a foreign government, the Fairford case could shift from a suspected domestic terrorism plot into a national-security investigation involving alleged state-sponsored activity. If no such connection is established, the presence of a dual UK-Iranian suspect would not itself demonstrate Iranian involvement.
For now, British authorities are deliberately keeping those possibilities separate. What began with three suspicious vans and five arrests outside an air base has expanded to London searches, another terrorism arrest and an examination of potential foreign-state involvement. The next stage will depend on whether investigators can establish a demonstrable link between the suspects, their activity near RAF Fairford and any outside actor.