British police arrest UK-Iranian national over airbase incident

Counter Terrorism police also questioned a UK national, days after five others were arrested and released on bail.A British-Iranian man has been arrested in connection with an alleged security incident at an airbase in southwest England over the weekend.Counter Terrorism police in the UK said on Thursday that a “27-year-old man, a dual UK/Iranian national, was arrested” in central London.He was detained “on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts” as part of an investigation into the events on Sunday near the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford.A second man, 26 – a UK national – was also “questioned under caution”, the police statement added.The RAF base 160 kilometres (100 miles) west of London has been used by US bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including the US and Israel’s war on Iran, which began in February.On Sunday, five men, all in their 20s and from London, were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and “terrorism” over the incident at RAF Fairford. They have since been released on bail.“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing for the Metropolitan Police, said in a statement.“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles – including possible foreign state involvement.”Police on Tuesday said they had found no explosives in the vehicles that were parked near the base on Sunday, but had retrieved a “quantity of petrol”.Earlier, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that Iran played a role in an alleged security incident.