Police probe whether Iran used unwitting criminal proxies in plot

U.K. police on Thursday arrested a 27-year-old dual U.K.-Iranian national in London on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, a day after U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that Iran was linked to events that saw five masked men detained in the early hours of Sunday beside the air base, which has been used by the United States as a staging post for bombers striking Iran. The five men, all in their 20s and living in London, were subsequently released on bail after the white vans they had been driving were found to contain quantities of fuel rather than explosive materials.

On Thursday, police said another U.K. national, aged 26, had been questioned and two properties had been searched in connection with the investigation. Details of the latest arrest remained unclear.

Iran’s Embassy in the U.K. responded, saying it “categorically rejects” attempts to link Iran to the arrests, calling such reports “unfounded and malicious speculations,” in a statement on X earlier in the week.

Vicki Evans, the U.K.’s Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said on Thursday that investigators were examining “all possible angles—including possible foreign state involvement.” Police were also exploring whether Iran may have used potentially unwitting criminal proxies to orchestrate the plot, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Officials said Monday that police were alerted to the plot in the early hours of Sunday by one of the five arrested suspects, who called emergency services to tip them off. That disclosure fueled speculation, according to The Wall Street Journal, that one of the suspects might have gotten cold feet about the operation. Much about the event remains unclear.

Earlier this summer, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had warned the U.K. that it would face consequences for allowing the United States to use its bases to attack Iran, according to The Wall Street Journal. U.S. bombers have used the Fairford base to fly sorties in the Middle East conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said this week that Israel had handed over information to the U.K. government about a suspected Iranian plan a few weeks ago. The U.K. government has not commented on that claim.