Police probe ‘terror’ incident near RAF base used in Iran war: What we know

EXPLAINERFive men were arrested on suspicion of the ‘preparation of a terrorist act’ near RAF Fairford, a base used by the US.Police man a roadblock outside the RAF Fairford base in south England on September 27, 2026 [AFP]Published On 28 Sep 2026At least five men were arrested on Sunday morning on suspicion of the “preparation of a terrorist act” near a British Royal Air Force (RAF) base in southern England.Armed officers arrested the group of men after calls from residents to emergency services reported three “suspicious vehicles which appeared to be travelling towards the air base”, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Mike Waltz: US offered to sell Iran uranium for civilian programmelist 2 of 3Why has Trump rejected Iran’s peace proposal?list 3 of 3‘Iran ready for doomsday war’, FM Araghchi saysend of list“Counter Terrorism Policing can now confirm they are leading an investigation into an incident which took place overnight near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire,” the police added.Calling the incident “deeply concerning”, United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government would take “every step necessary” to protect the public.Here’s what we know about the incident.What is RAF Fairford?Based in Gloucestershire, RAF Fairford is a British military base that hosts the United States Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing.It is one of 12 UK bases, including RAF Lakenheath, which hosts the largest US force group in the UK and RAF Mildenhall, which supports refuelling and global operations.The Fairford base was also used by US forces during their attacks on Iran amid the ongoing conflict, during which they deployed B-1 and B-2 bombers.In March, then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer granted permission for “defensive” US action against Iranian missile sites from two UK bases, including Fairford and Diego Garcia, in the British Indian Ocean Territory.What happened?On Sunday, Gloucestershire police said they received a call about “three suspicious vehicles” travelling towards the base at 00:45 local time (23:45 GMT on Saturday).Broadcast aerial footage showed a bomb disposal robot moving around the vans, two of which had their rear doors open.Police believed the incident had been “contained” and put a 400-metre (1,300-foot) cordon in place.A resident who called 999 told BBC Radio 4 on condition of anonymity that she arrived home in the nearby village of Whelford to find the driveway blocked and saw a “large group of hooded and masked men”.“When they saw me, they ran ahead of me – some into the field and some towards the neighbouring village of Kempsford. I then realised that something highly unusual was taking place,” she added.The woman told the BBC that she called the Ministry of Defence police at the airbase, but there was no answer; after calling 999 at 01:36 BST (00:36 GMT), she said, “within 10 minutes the village was full of armed police”.“I am absolutely staggered that it was left to me as a member of the public to see and report this,” she said.About 85 households in the nearby village of Whelford were advised to evacuate. Those residents also spoke of “heightened tensions” in the area in recent weeks with frequent police patrols.What do we know about those arrested?Not much is known about the five men arrested in the incident.Gloucestershire police said they initially arrested the men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act.But they were subsequently arrested on suspicion of the “preparation of a terrorist act”, the Metropolitan Police announced.The men currently remain in custody, and police have not disclosed where they are being kept.When asked whether police were looking for more suspects in connection with the incident, Maggie Blyth, the temporary chief constable of Gloucestershire police, said she believed it was “contained”.US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the suspects were “looking to do big damage” at the airbase.“We had them under view for a long time, and we got them,” he said, adding the US and the UK had been working together on the incident.Rob Geist Pinfold, an international security lecturer at King’s College London, explained that under British law the identity of the men would not be disclosed unless they were charged.“We don’t know anything about whether they’re British nationals, whether they’re foreign nationals, for example. And we also don’t know what was in those vans,” Pinfold told Al Jazeera.“Trump’s statement there suggests these men were under investigation as well. So, we don’t know how much of this is simply a member of the public spotting something suspicious that sounds pretty inept or whether this is some sort of well-planned and poorly executed attempt to cause damage at Fairford,” he added.It remains unclear whether the suspects are connected to Iran.Tehran has previously said it would target US military bases that had launched attacks on Iran.Since February 28, when the US and Israel first launched their strikes on Iran, Tehran has targeted multiple military bases in the Gulf and the broader Middle East, including those in Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.In early March, a loitering munition also struck an RAF base in Cyprus, where authorities claimed Iranian drones aimed at the base were also intercepted.Defence Minister Wes Streeting said on Sunday that he had been in contact with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the UK was “working closely with our American friends”.When asked whether Iran was involved, he said it would be “irresponsible to speculate”.