British police question five men detained near RAF Fairford

Fairford, United Kingdom. British police were questioning five men on Monday on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences after they were detained near RAF Fairford, an air base in western England used by the United States to strike Iran.

Detentions near the air base

Officers detained the men in the early hours of Sunday after a tip-off that three large white vans had been seen heading towards the military airfield. US President Donald Trump said the suspects had been looking to do “big damage” and had been under investigation by British and US authorities.

A local farmer, however, said she had alerted police after seeing a group of “hooded and masked men” running into fields.

Investigators consider possible motives

British counterterrorism detectives have not publicly said who they believe was involved. A source familiar with the investigation said an Iranian-linked motive was considered the most likely, while investigators were also looking at the possibilities of a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist plot.

Defence minister Wes Streeting told BBC News on Monday that he would not speculate about the motives in an active investigation. Speaking about the broader threat from Iran, he said: “We know that Iran and their proxies wish to do us harm. We know that they hate our democracy, and we know that we regularly have to thwart Iranian attempts to threaten either our interests or indeed our allies.”

In May, Britain sanctioned 12 individuals and entities linked to Iran, accusing them of hostile activity that included plotting attacks and providing financial services to groups seeking to destabilise the UK and other countries. Iran has repeatedly denied involvement in attacks or plots in the UK and elsewhere.

US use of RAF Fairford

The British government had authorised the United States to use bombers based at Fairford to strike Iranian missile sites that were attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The government said Prime Minister Andy Burnham was receiving regular updates on the incident. He cancelled plans to attend at least two events at his Labour Party’s annual conference on Sunday.