Two RAF Fairford Suspects Rearrested as Counter-Terror Police Investigate Possible Iran Connection

Two men previously arrested in connection with the incident near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on 27 September 2026 have been rearrested. According to Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national are being held on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023.

'This is very much a live investigation,' said Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing. 'Our evidence gathering continues, but at this time, our position remains the same—we consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement.'

Burnham Previously Pointed to Iran

'There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at R.A.F. Fairford,' Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in an interview on 30 September 2026. However, shortly after the incident, Burnham cautioned people against making assumptions about what had happened.

In the early hours of 27 September, CTP received a call about three suspicious vehicles near RAF Fairford. Police responded and arrested five men on suspicion of offences under explosives and terrorism legislation.

However, no viable explosives were found in the vans, although petrol was discovered. The five men were released on bail on 28 September, but CTP clarified that the investigation was still ongoing.

Burnham reiterated the Iran connection assessment while speaking in the House of Commons on 12 October 2026: 'I can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard.'

Trump and Farage Both Raised Iran Link

Before Burnham made his assessment to Parliament on 12 October, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and US President Donald Trump had already publicly raised the possibility of Iranian involvement.

Trump expressed surprise that the five suspects had been released on bail. 'I wouldn't have released them,' Trump told reporters on 28 September 2026.

Farage was more unequivocal in his statement shortly after the arrests. 'I have been warning both in and out of Parliament for many months about Iranian agents coming into the UK via small boats across the Channel,' he said.

However, police confirmed that the five men initially arrested near RAF Fairford were British nationals. Farage's comments were made before the investigation had established whether there was any connection to Iran.

Investigation Continues

'Our investigators are continuing to examine what that level of involvement was and the ambition behind it,' Taylor said following the rearrest of the two men. 'Our specialist teams have been working tirelessly to interrogate the many lines of enquiry involved in this hugely complex investigation.'

He acknowledged that national security investigations take time due to their sensitive nature. However, MP Tom Tugendhat, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, believes something went wrong with the investigation.

'Something has gone badly wrong in this investigation. The fact that suspects were arrested, released and rearrested suggests a level of chaos,' said Tugendhat.

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied involvement in the RAF Fairford incident in a statement released on 12 October 2026.

'The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran categorically rejects the baseless accusations leveled against Iran and holds the British government, as well as the designers and perpetrators of this clumsy false-flag operation, responsible for all consequences arising from these fabrications,' the ministry said.