Two men from Westminster have been re-arrested under the 2023 National Security Act on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence, linked to an incident at RAF Fairford last month.
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01Summary
- 01A 24-year-old UK national and a 25-year-old UK/Iranian national, both from Westminster, were detained under section 3 of the 2023 National Security Act.
- 02The arrests relate to the investigation into an incident at RAF Fairford on 27 September, when five men drove to the village of Whelford in three white vans.
- 03Assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said investigators consider Iranian state involvement highly likely, though the level and ambition are still being examined.
- 04The two men were previously arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences and released on bail; a seventh man arrested in subsequent investigations also remains on bail.
- 05Prime minister Andy Burnham told the Commons last week that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was almost certainly behind the episode, which led to the US withdrawing 12 B-1 bombers from the base.
02Why it matters
This matters because it highlights ongoing national security risks linked to foreign intelligence activities on UK soil, particularly at a sensitive US air force base used in recent strikes on Iran.
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