Who was behind RAF Fairford terror plot? 'Foreign actor' claim puts Iran link in focus

File photo: United States Air Force personnel at RAF Fairford

The suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford has put a possible Iran link back in focus after US secretary of state Marco Rubio said a foreign actor was “clearly” involved, without naming the country or providing evidence.

The development comes as British counter-terrorism investigators continue to examine whether the five men arrested near the airbase had links to a foreign state.Rubio made the claim after five British men arrested near the US-used airbase were released on police bail and stated that the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor”.The men, all British nationals in their early 20s from London, remain under investigation and have been placed under stringent conditions governing their movement and contact with others.

UK counter-terrorism police have said their release does not mean the investigation is over.

Trump says plot ‘might’ be linked to Iran

US president Donald Trump also weighed in on Monday, saying he would not have released the suspects on bail.Asked whether the case was linked to Iran, Trump said: “It might.” He declined to elaborate, saying he knew the answer but preferred not to disclose it.Trump had earlier said the suspects wanted to cause “big damage” and suggested they had been under investigation by British and US authorities.

British sources, however, have indicated that while the broader threat environment was known, the specific activities of the five men were not necessarily known.Iran, however, has strongly denied any involvement in the incident. The Iranian embassy in London “categorically rejects and strongly condemns” what it called “unfounded and malicious speculations” by British individuals and media outlets attempting to link Tehran to the arrest of the five suspects near RAF Fairford.

The embassy said such claims, particularly following what it described as US and Israeli “criminal acts of aggression” against Iran, would only fuel “Iranophobia propaganda” in the UK. It also said Iran reserved the right to take legal measures to protect the country’s rights and interests in response to what it called misleading and damaging media narratives.

What happened near RAF Fairford?

Police were alerted early Sunday after a local farmer reported seeing three white vans and a group of hooded or masked men near the base.Armed officers arrested five men in the Whelford area, about a mile from RAF Fairford. They were initially held on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and were later arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Around 85 homes were evacuated and a 400-metre cordon was imposed while bomb-disposal teams and forensic experts examined the vehicles.An initial examination of the vans led investigators to assess whether they contained explosive materials.

British media later reported that no viable explosives had been found.The head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor, said investigators were considering “multiple lines of enquiry”, including the possibility that the activity involved proxies or individuals knowingly or unknowingly working for a foreign state.The possibility of an Iranian connection has drawn particular attention because RAF Fairford has been used by US bombers in operations against Iran.Iran's Revolutionary Guards had previously warned that the base could be considered a legitimate target if it was used to launch attacks. The area has also seen increased security activity amid tensions between Britain, the US and Iran.British defence secretary Wes Streeting said Iran and its proxies were known to pose threats, while foreign secretary Ed Miliband said Britain had to be prepared to confront security threats and Iranian proxies.But neither British counter-terrorism police nor the government has publicly established that Iran was behind the Fairford incident.The investigation therefore remains open to several possibilities, with police examining whether the suspects acted independently, on behalf of a foreign state or as proxies.