Two men re-arrested for suspected spying for Iran in airbase scare: UK police

• UK police re-arrested two men from London on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service in a scare at RAF Fairford. The country under investigation is Iran, and police say Iranian state involvement is “highly likely”.
• The incident began on 27 September after a farmer reported “suspicious” activity with white vans near the US-used airbase. Seven people were arrested, later bailed, and none has been charged.
• The US withdrew its B-1 bombers after the scare. Police say the case is still “a live investigation”, while Tehran denies any role.

LONDON - UK police said Oct 20 they have re-arrested two men on suspicion of spying for Iran, amid an investigation into a security scare at a British airbase used by the United States.

Counter-terrorism police said a 24-year-old British citizen and a 25-year-old UK-Iranian dual national, both from London, were arrested “on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service” over September’s incident at the Fairford base in south-west England.

“The country to which the investigation relates is Iran,” the police statement said.

The United States abruptly withdrew all its B-1 bombers from the Royal Air Force (RAF) site earlier this month after the incident there on Sept 27.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards “almost certainly directed” the major scare, which remained shrouded in mystery and speculation.

Police were called to the base in the middle of the night after a local farmer reported a group of men with several white vans engaged in “suspicious” activity.

Seven suspects were arrested in the days following, including the pair who have now been re-arrested, with all seven released on bail earlier this month. None has been charged.

The 24-year-old man was initially arrested near RAF Fairford in the early hours of Sept 27 while the 25-year-old dual national was subsequently arrested on Oct 1 in London.

They were both re-arrested under a 2023 national security law relating to assisting a foreign intelligence service.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of counter-terror policing, said in an Oct 20 update that specialist teams had been “working tirelessly to interrogate the many lines of enquiry involved in this hugely complex investigation”.

He added it remained “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.”

Taylor said investigators were continuing to examine the extent of Iran’s possible involvement “and the ambition behind it”.

Tehran has consistently denied being involved. AFP