Five men arrested near RAF Fairford released on bail as counterterrorism police pursue Iranian link among several lines of inquiry

Five men were arrested on Sunday near RAF Fairford on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offenses, and released on bail on Monday. A possible Iran link is one line of inquiry among several. Tehran denies involvement.

The arrests followed a tip that three suspicious vehicles appeared to be heading toward the base in southwest England, prompting the detentions of five men who are British nationals aged 23 to 25 from London. Under U.K. terrorism laws, suspects can be held for up to 14 days without charge. All five were released on bail. “To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over,” said Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing. “They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others.”

Why Fairford is a target

RAF Fairford has served as a command outpost for the U.S. Air Force, hosting American bombers used in strikes on Iranian missile sites that were attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.K. government gave the U.S. authorisation to use bombers based at Fairford for those operations. In July, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned that any base used in airstrikes on Iran was a legitimate target. The warning was explicit. Iranian Ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi had previously said allowing U.S. bombers to launch from Fairford was an “important matter for our self-defense.”

A source familiar with the investigation said an Iranian-linked motive is considered the most likely, while a Russian sabotage operation and an Islamist plot were also being examined. The inquiry is broad. Taylor said officers were investigating whether the foiled attack was the work of “proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.”

Tehran rejects any link

Iran’s embassy in London categorically rejected and strongly condemned speculation linking Iran to the alleged plot. The denial was issued on Monday. “The Circulation of such fabricated speculations, particularly in the aftermath of the criminal acts of aggression committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian people, will serve no purpose other than to fuel Iranophobia propaganda in the UK,” the embassy said in a statement. The embassy added: “The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to take appropriate legal measures, as necessary, to safeguard the rights and interests of the country and its people in response to misleading and damaging media narratives.”

Political response

Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the incident as “deeply concerning” and said his government was taking “every step necessary” to protect communities and keep the country safe. He was due to chair a meeting of the COBRA emergency response team on Monday. “The investigation remains ongoing, and I would urge people not to speculate while the authorities establish the full facts,” Burnham said in a social media post. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the U.K. must be prepared to confront all security threats. “We will act against the proxies of Iran,” Miliband added. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said it would be “very unwise” for him to speculate on potential Iranian involvement.

President Donald Trump weighed in. The suspects had been looking to do “big damage” and had been under investigation by British and U.S. authorities “for a long time, and we got them,” he said.

Oil rises as talks stall

Oil prices traded sharply higher. Brent crude futures with November expiry were 3.8% higher at $108.32 per barrel, while WTI futures rose 3.9% to $95.99. Oil is moving through the Strait of Hormuz but not at prewar levels. Kpler data shows flows averaging about 13 million barrels a day, compared with roughly 15-17 million before the war. Trump rejected an Iranian offer for a seven-day pause in fighting and an immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, telling Axios in a phone interview on Sunday that he expected U.S. negotiators to engage in more talks this week. Iran had sought relief from the U.S. naval blockade on its oil exports and access to billions of dollars frozen abroad in exchange for reopening the waterway.