Two men arrested over a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire have been re-arrested on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service.
A 24-year-old UK national and a 25-year-old dual UK/Iranian national, both from the Borough of Westminster in London, were re-arrested on 20 October on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023. Police said the country to which the investigation relates is Iran.
The 24-year-old man was first arrested near RAF Fairford on Sunday 27 September. The 25-year-old was later arrested on Thursday 1 October in the Borough of Westminster.
Three suspicious vans were spotted near the airbase on September 27 and a “quantity of petrol” was found inside.
Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, said: “Since the events at RAF Fairford on Sunday 27 September, our specialist teams have been working tirelessly to interrogate the many lines of enquiry involved in this hugely complex investigation. So far seven men have been arrested in connection with our investigation.”
The re-arrests mark a significant escalation in one of the most sensitive counter-terrorism cases of the year, which Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously linked to Iranian state activity.
The case has been running since late September, when one of the suspects was reported to have called 999 himself amid the confusion around the airbase.
No charges have yet been brought in connection with the investigation. The Met said five of the seven men arrested so far remain on bail.
