Two suspects rearrested in RAF Fairford plot with Iran ties deemed ‘highly likely’

British counterterrorism police rearrested two men in London on Tuesday as part of an investigation into a suspected plot at RAF Fairford. A police officer carries traffic cones along a road leading to RAF Fairford in Fairford, England, Sept. 28, 2026. (Alastair Grant/AP) British counterterrorism police rearrested two men in London on Tuesday as part of an investigation into a suspected plot at RAF Fairford, a British air base used by the United States. The two men are suspected of assisting a foreign intelligence service, according to a police statement cited by multiple media outlets. Both had previously been released on bail. “Our evidence gathering continues, but at this time our position remains the same,” said Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of national counterterrorism policing.

“We consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement.” RAF Fairford is regularly used by the U.S. Air Force and has hosted American aircraft that conducted strikes related to the war against Iran earlier this year. The men, both from the London borough of Westminster, are a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national. They were rearrested under a provision of Britain’s National Security Act, authorities said. The new arrests stem from an incident that happened last month in Whelford, near RAF Fairford. Police were alerted to three suspicious vans