Two Men Rearrested Over the Iran-Linked Plot at RAF Fairford as Police Name Iran

Two men have been rearrested over the suspected plot at RAF Fairford, and for the first time Counter Terrorism Policing has named the country at the centre of the investigation: Iran. Both had been on police bail. Neither has been charged. The force says it considers Iranian state involvement highly likely, and that twenty-three days on it is still asking itself what that involvement actually was.

Two Men Rearrested Over the Iran-Linked Plot at RAF Fairford as Police Name Iran

LONDON, England — Counter Terrorism Policing said on Tuesday 20 October that it had rearrested two men on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023. The country to which the investigation relates is Iran, the force said. The Financial Times reported that police had explicitly linked the event to Iran for the first time.

Two Men, One Statute, and a Country Named Out Loud

The two are a 24-year-old UK national and a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national. Both are from the borough of Westminster, in central London. Police have not released their names, and no court has yet been asked to test the evidence against them. The 24-year-old was first arrested on 27 September near RAF Fairford, the night the vans were stopped. The 25-year-old was first arrested on 1 October in Westminster, and two properties in the borough were searched. Both had been on police bail before Tuesday. Five other men arrested in the same investigation remain on bail. Seven men have been arrested in total. No one has been charged.

What Actually Changed on Tuesday

Until Tuesday, every arrest in this case had rested on terrorism and explosives law. The rearrests rest on something else: an alleged relationship with a foreign intelligence service. Laurence Taylor, head of national counter terrorism policing, said: "This is very much a live investigation, and our evidence gathering continues, but at this time our position remains the same; we consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement." He added: "Our investigators are continuing to examine what that level of involvement was and the ambition behind it." Taylor said specialist teams had worked "tirelessly" since 27 September, that the two were held "for offences relating to Section 3 of the National Security Act - assisting a foreign intelligence service", and that the public has "unanswered questions".

The Law They Are Now Held Under

Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023 creates two routes to the offence. Under subsection 1, a person commits an offence if they engage in conduct and intend it to materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities. Under subsection 2, the test turns on knowledge: conduct likely to materially assist such a service, where the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, that it is likely to. Subsection 3 says the conduct can include providing information, goods, services or financial benefits, directly or indirectly. Subsection 5 states it is not necessary to identify a particular foreign intelligence service. UK-related activities run to anything in Britain, or anything abroad prejudicial to British safety or interests. The maximum penalty on indictment is 14 years, or a fine, or both.

The Night Three Vans Came Up the Lane

At 00:45 BST on Sunday 27 September, Gloucestershire Police received a call about "three suspicious vehicles" travelling towards RAF Fairford. Armed officers detained five men in Whelford, the village beside the base, about two miles from the perimeter. They were first arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act 1875, then further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006. A major incident was declared. About 85 households were evacuated. A 400-metre cordon went up, a bomb disposal robot went in, and around 30 emergency vehicles filled the village. Who raised the alarm is disputed: several outlets reported that a farmer in Whelford called police after seeing the vans blocking a road, while The Irish Times, citing security officials from several countries, reported that one of the men inside the vans dialled emergency services.

Petrol, Not Explosives, and a Van With a Borrowed Logo

By 29 September the picture had changed. Taylor said the vehicles had been "subject to extensive examination, with the support of military assets and forensic experts, and we can confirm that no improvised explosive devices were found. However, a quantity of petrol was recovered." The Associated Press reported police found an accelerant, gasoline, in three vans, but no explosives. Euronews reported the white vans appeared to contain barrels, and that at least one carried a fake logo and phone number giving the false impression it belonged to a legitimate diesel delivery firm. That firm, Fuel2U, said "neither the vehicle nor any of the individuals involved has any connection whatsoever with Fuel2U". Washington questioned the decision to bail the first five; President Trump said he was "surprised" and that "I wouldn't have done that".

The Base the Bombers Left

RAF Fairford sits in Gloucestershire, about 100 miles west of London, and has been a US Air Force forward operating location for decades. It is the only base on mainland Britain used for American strikes on Iran. The US-Israeli war with Iran began on 28 February 2026. Britain initially refused President Trump's request to use UK bases to strike Iran — then-prime minister Keir Starmer said he would not join "regime change from the skies" — before agreeing in March to "defensive" operations against Iranian missiles and launch sites. B-1 and B-52 bombers flew from Fairford. After the incident a US defence official told NBC News that "all U.S. bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States". NBC News reported the withdrawal involved at least 12 bombers, several of them newly arrived, and that, according to two US officials, reports of a possible Iranian drone attack prompted the move.

Whose Finger Is on It: The Attribution Ladder

The record is layered, and the layers do not carry equal weight. On 29 September, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "a very serious situation... that clearly involves the hand of a foreign actor". Days later Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC there were "strong indications" Iran played a part; by 20 October the AP reported he had hardened that to "almost certainly" directed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the IRGC. Trump said the people behind the threat "would be linked to Iran". An anonymous US official told the AP the administration believed the intent was to kill as many American troops and destroy as many US planes as possible. The Irish Times, citing US and British officials, reported the operation is believed tied to the IRGC or a separate military headquarters in Tehran, and that one official described the hired men as "unwitting chumps". Taylor said officers were keeping an "open mind" about "proxies" working knowingly or unknowingly for a foreign state.

Tehran's Answer

Iran denies involvement. Its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has rejected the accusations. The Iranian Embassy in London said the regime "categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations published by some British individuals and media outlets attempting to link Iran" to the incident. Iran has said repeatedly since the war began that any base used to attack its territory would be considered a legitimate target, and its Revolutionary Guard has named RAF Fairford specifically. That doctrine is a statement of intent, not an admission, and police have not said whether the base was the intended target of whatever was planned that night. The gap between what Tehran says publicly and what Western intelligence agencies say privately is now the central unanswered question in the case.

What the Spies Had Been Warning

Seven days before the rearrests, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum delivered his annual threat update. He said Russia "remains aggressor number one", and that Iran, like Russia, is attempting to expand its hybrid campaign against Britain. He said Iran is escalating beyond dissidents and Jewish sites to harder military targets, that MI5 operations connected to Iran had yielded more than 50 arrests in the UK over the past 12 months, many of them aimed at Jewish communities, and that artificial intelligence is "supercharging" the threats hostile actors pose. The AP reported he warned the Fairford incident was not unique. British officials have said national security cases involving hostile-state activity, including Iran, rose by 50% in the six months to December 2025, and that Iran-linked proxies have been behind a string of arsons abroad and at home.

What Is Not Established

No one has been charged. No trial date exists. The men have not been named, and nothing in Tuesday's statement establishes what they are alleged to have done beyond the statutory words. No explosives were found; petrol was recovered. Two US officials told NBC that reports of a possible Iranian drone attack prompted the bomber withdrawal, and British officials declined to comment on that. Whether anyone saw it coming is contested: The Guardian reported the suspected plot appeared to have been foiled by chance when a member of the public raised the alarm, while The Irish Times, citing officials in several countries, reported US commanders were warned in mid-September that Fairford was a potential target. The prime minister's spokesman, Tom Wells, would not discuss "foreign nations' military operations" but insisted the base is safe.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Counter Terrorism Policing statements, Associated Press, BBC News, The Guardian, the Financial Times, PA Media via STV News, the Swindon Advertiser, CBS News, NBC News, Euronews, Stars and Stripes, The Irish Times, and the text of the National Security Act 2023 as published on legislation.gov.uk. Photographs: The Guardian (a police vehicle at the perimeter of RAF Fairford with a US aircraft beyond the fence); PA Media via STV News (police cordon near RAF Fairford, 27 September 2026); Vieve Forward via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (RAF Fairford gate).