ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday there were “strong indications” Iran played a role in a suspected security incident near RAF Fairford, as Tehran rejected the allegation and British police continued investigating possible foreign-state involvement.
Five British nationals aged 23 to 25 were arrested early Sunday in Whelford, near the Gloucestershire airbase, after police received reports of three suspicious vehicles travelling towards RAF Fairford. They were detained on suspicion of explosives offences and preparation of a terrorist act.
Police released the five on bail on Monday, with Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, saying that they “absolutely remain under investigation” and are “subject to stringent conditions.”
Investigators later said no improvised explosive devices were found in the vehicles, but that a quantity of petrol was recovered.
“There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford,” Burnham told the BBC on Wednesday, while stressing that the case remained an “ongoing, complex, and serious police investigation.”
“We will say more in due course, but we can confirm our belief that we believe Iran to have played a part,” he added.
RAF Fairford is a British military airbase used by the US Air Force and has been used by American bombers during military operations against Iran. Britain authorized the United States to use the base for strikes on Iranian missile sites during the conflict.
Iran strongly rejected the allegation. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to Burnham on X, saying: “I can confirm Iran's belief that releasing supposed terrorists working for foreign states really says it all.”
“You’re barking up the wrong tree,” he added.
Before Burnham publicly linked Iran to the incident, UK counterterrorism police had said they were examining whether the suspects could have been working, either knowingly or unknowingly, for a foreign state, while keeping “an open mind” about the investigation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” without naming a country.
“What happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation,” Rubio told Fox News.
US President Donald Trump also criticized the release of the suspects on bail, saying: “I wouldn’t have done that.” Trump had earlier claimed the men had been under investigation and were looking to do “big damage.”
Burnham defended the decision, saying the suspects were subject to the “strictest possible bail conditions” and that British authorities were working closely with their US counterparts.
The incident comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned in July that any British base used to launch attacks against Iranian territory would be considered a “legitimate target,” according to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). The warning specifically followed the use of RAF Fairford by US bombers.
