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Fairford Investigation Widens as UK-Iranian Man Is Arrested in London
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A 27-year-old has been held on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. The five men arrested near the base on Sunday have been released on bail.
Counter-terrorism police have arrested a 27-year-old dual UK-Iranian national in London on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, in connection with Sunday's incident at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
A second man, a 26-year-old British national, has been questioned under caution, ABC News reported.
The arrest comes days after the five men detained near the base were released on bail without charge. All five are British nationals in their 20s from London. They were arrested in the early hours of Sunday after a farmer spotted three vans and men in balaclavas near the airfield. Police have since said petrol was found in the vans, but no explosive device.
The Iran question
The investigation has moved quickly towards Tehran. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC there were "strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened on the weekend". "We will say more in due course," he said, describing the investigation as "ongoing, complex and serious".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio went further, saying the incident "clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor". Donald Trump said he would not have released the five men. Iran has denied any involvement.
Donald Trump said he would not have released the five men. Iran has denied any involvement.
Counter Terrorism Policing said it was "looking at all possible angles, including possible foreign state involvement". It is also examining whether those involved could have been working as proxies, knowingly or unknowingly, on behalf of a foreign state.
That would fit a pattern MI5 has warned about for years, in which Iran recruits people inside Britain, often criminals, to carry out its work. RAF Fairford has been used by US bombers in strikes on Iran this year, and in July the Revolutionary Guard named it a "legitimate target".
The investigation continues.
