UK police re-arrest two men on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence

Police in the United Kingdom have re-arrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service after an incident at a United States-run airbase in England last month.

Key points

• Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK remarked the men, a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national, were arrested under the National Security Act.
• British Prime Minister Andy Burnham remarked the apparent plot was "almost certainly" directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
• Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK, remarked the investigation was "hugely complex" and that detectives were looking at "many lines of enquiry".
• When the suspected plot against RAF Fairford took place, one of the suspects was first arrested on September 27.
• While British authorities blamed Iran, the incident prompted the US to pull its bombers out of RAF Fairford.

When the suspected plot against RAF Fairford took place, one of the suspects was first arrested on September 27. The airbase in Gloucestershire in western England has been applied to launch strikes on Iran during this year's war.

Meanwhile, the second suspect was first arrested on October 1. Until Tuesday, the men had been published on bail pending more investigation.

"This is very much a live investigation, " Taylor remarked in an official note, adding: "We consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement."

"Our investigators are continuing to examine what that level of involvement was and the ambition behind it, " he continued.

British police declared a major incident in the area around RAF Fairford after a member of the public documented seeing three "suspicious" vans driving near the base.

Residents were forced to leave their homes as armed police officers and army bomb-disposal experts swarmed the rural area.

Police afterwards stated they had discovered a quantity of an accelerant – petrol – in three vans at the site, but no explosives.

Ken McCallum, the UK's domestic intelligence spy chief, cautioned that Iran and Russia were expanding attacks against military bases in the UK, adding that the RAF Fairford incident was not unique.

In all, more than 50 individuals have been arrested over Iran-linked plots previously year, McCallum stated.

Although it has previously remarked that it considers any base employed to attack its territory a legitimate target, iran has denied involvement.

Five other men in their 20s were arrested earlier then published on bail pending further investigation. No one has yet been charged.

Taken together, the developments around UK police re-arrest two men on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.