Five arrested near UK U.S. air base on terror plot suspicion — SkimNews
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- Five men were arrested near RAF Fairford around 12:45 a.m. Sunday after police received a report of three suspicious vehicles apparently travelling toward the U.S.-operated air base; aerial footage showed a bomb disposal robot working between three white trucks.
- RAF Fairford hosts the U.S. Air Force's 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron, and has been used by American bombers for strikes on Iranian missile sites under an agreement with former PM Keir Starmer, who opposed the war launched Feb. 28.
- Authorities are investigating a possible Iran link, noting Iran has previously declared bases used to attack its territory as legitimate targets; U.K. security officials say Iran-linked proxies have been behind a string of arson and sabotage attempts in the U.K., many targeting the Jewish community.
- Trump praised the arrests in Chicago, saying: "We had them under view for a long time and we got them," and crediting cooperation with British authorities for stopping suspects who "were looking to do big damage to our fort."
- Police placed a 400-metre cordon and evacuated around 85 households while the army examines the vehicles; suspects can be detained under the Terrorism Act 2000 for up to 14 days without charge, and their nationalities have not been disclosed.
- Context: hostile-state activity cases in the U.K. rose 50% in the six months to December 2025, with Russia and Iran cited among countries that have used proxies to commit crimes on British soil; U.S. and U.K. defence secretaries Pete Hegseth and Wes Streeting have spoken about the incident.
Why it matters: The plot targeted the very base bombing Iran — and Iran had previously warned that bases striking its territory are 'legitimate targets,' making the suspected link a direct escalation from rhetoric to attempted action on British soil, compounded by the 50% rise in hostile-state cases in the U.K.
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