Iran link probed in suspected RAF Fairford bomb plot after five arrests

British counter-terrorism police and security services are investigating a suspected explosives plot near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, a base used by US forces for operations in the Middle East. Five men arrested near the base in the early hours of Sunday were initially held on explosives offences before being further arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Armed officers discovered explosives in three vans parked minutes from the base, which army bomb disposal experts subsequently examined.

Investigators are weighing a possible Iranian motive, noting that in July Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had warned that any base used for aggression against Iranian territory would be considered a legitimate target. However, officials stress that no motive has been ruled out, including a jihadist one, and the UK's terror threat level remains at 'severe' — the second-highest tier, indicating an attack is highly likely.

The farmer's account

The suspected plot appears to have been foiled by chance after a local farmer, returning home late from a party, found her driveway and road blocked by three white vans and then spotted a large group of hooded and masked men nearby. When they noticed her, the men fled into a field and toward a neighbouring village. After the Ministry of Defence police failed to answer her call, she dialled 999 at around 1:36am, and armed police arrived in the village within ten minutes. She expressed surprise that the village was not evacuated until around 6am despite police knowing about the vans since her initial call, and said no officer had since contacted her about the incident.

Defence secretary Wes Streeting thanked the farmer for her vigilance, saying she had acted quickly and done the right thing, though he added she only had a 'partial picture' of the situation. Dozens of households in the Cotswolds village of Whelford remain unable to return home since being evacuated during the operation.