Follow-Up: Two Men Rearrested in UK on Suspicion of Assisting Iran's Intelligence Service over Suspected Plot at US-Used RAF Fairford; Seven Arrested in Total
LONDON — British counterterrorism police said on Tuesday, October 20, that they have rearrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service in their investigation into last month's incident at RAF Fairford in England, where US B-1 bombers were based. The men — a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national — were rearrested under the National Security Act, according to CNN and the Associated Press. One of the suspects was first arrested on September 27, when the suspected plot against the US-run base at RAF Fairford took place; the second was first arrested on October 1. Until Tuesday, both men had been on bail pending further investigation.
"So far seven men have been arrested in connection with our investigation," Laurence Taylor, a senior national counterterrorism police officer, said in a statement. "As a result of the ongoing efforts of our officers, earlier today two of those men were re-arrested for offences relating to Section 3 of the National Security Act — assisting a foreign intelligence service." He added: "This is very much a live investigation, and our evidence gathering continues, but at this time our position remains the same; we consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement." The other five men are currently out on bail, police have not released the names of any of those arrested, and no one has yet been charged.
In late September, British authorities announced the initial arrest of five men on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act and explosives offences near RAF Fairford, a British air base in western England long used by the US Air Force. Army bomb disposal units and armed police officers swarmed the rural area and scores of residents were evacuated from their homes near the base. Police later said they had found a quantity of an accelerant — gasoline — in three vans at the site, but no explosives, the AP reported. British authorities linked Tehran to the incident, which led the US to pull its bombers from RAF Fairford. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said earlier this month that the suspected plot was "almost certainly" directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran has denied involvement, although it has previously said it considers any base used to attack its territory a legitimate target. As of Tuesday, none of the US bombers had returned to Fairford, CNN reported.
US President Donald Trump praised the original arrests at the time, telling reporters that the US had worked with Britain and that the men arrested were planning to do "big damage" to RAF Fairford. "We had them under view for a long time, and we got them," Trump said.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美军 B-1B「枪骑兵」轰炸机夜间停在英国费尔福德皇家空军基地停机坪（资料图）。美国空军照片，Senior Airman Ryan Hayman 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。Photo: A US Air Force B-1B Lancer on the apron at RAF Fairford at night (file photo). US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ryan Hayman, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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