Five detained in RAF base counterterror operation

• Reuters, FAIRFORD, England

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British law enforcement personnel were questioning five men on Monday on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offenses after they were detained near an air base that has been used by the US to attack Iran.

Officers detained the three men in the early hours of Sunday after they received a tip-off that three large white vans had been seen heading to the military airfield of RAF Fairford in the west of England.

US President Donald Trump said the suspects had been looking to do “big damage” and had been under investigation by British and US authorities. However, a local farmer said she had tipped off police after seeing a group of “hooded and masked men” running into the fields.

An armored vehicle patrols RAF Fairford in England on Monday.

Photo: AFP

British counterterrorism officials have not yet publicly said who they believed was involved but a source familiar with the investigation said an Iranian-linked motive was considered the most likely, while a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist plot were being evaluated as possibilities.

UK Secretary of State for Defence Wes Streeting said in an interview that he would not speculate about motives of a live investigation.

He added on the general Iranian threat to the country: “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.”

Iran has repeatedly denied involvement in attacks or plots in the UK and elsewhere.

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

The government has said British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is being regularly updated on the incident and he canceled attending at least two events at his Labour Party’s annual conference on Sunday.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had warned Britain in July not to allow US bombers to fly from Fairford, saying any base used to launch attacks would be a legitimate target.