UK Police Arrest 5 Men Near RAF Fairford, Evacuating 85 Homes Over Iran Plot Fears
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 4
UK Police Arrest 5 Men Near RAF Fairford, Evacuating 85 Homes Over Iran Plot Fears
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 4
Summary
Five men driving three white vans toward RAF Fairford were arrested around 12:45 a.m. Sunday after one of them called emergency services, alerting police that a suspected plot may have begun.
Armed officers rushed to the base area after intelligence received nearly two weeks earlier had pointed to a possible terrorism threat linked to the site, which the U.S. is using in its war on Iran.
Eighty-five homes were evacuated and bomb-disposal teams searched the vans, but authorities found no explosives.
All five suspects were released on bail within a day, leaving investigators to explain both the emergency call and Prime Minister Andy Burnham's statement that there were strong indications Iran played a part.
The episode has turned the rural Gloucestershire base into a U.S.-Iran flashpoint while highlighting how classified intelligence can complicate any criminal case.