Counter-terrorism police investigate alleged Iranian attack plan on British military base

British counter-terrorism police are investigating whether Iran is behind a planned “terrorist” attack against a military base in England used by the US army, British media reported on Monday. Five men suspected of “preparing a terrorist act” were arrested overnight from Saturday to Sunday near the Royal Air Force base in Fairford, in central England, which the American army uses in its war against Iran.

Asked by reporters overnight about the suspects, US President Donald Trump said: "We know everything about them, and you will hear about them very soon." “We were investigating them. They wanted to do a lot of damage to our base, and working with the British worked really well,” he said earlier.

In March, the United Kingdom authorized the United States to use the Fairford base for "specific defensive operations targeting Iran", to destroy Iranian missiles. Since then, American bombers and other aircraft have been seen taking off and landing at Fairford. Counterterrorism police investigators leading the investigation “are seeking to determine whether the suspects have ties to Iran,” the Times wrote Monday.

According to the Telegraph, the police “suspect Iran of being the state actor most likely to be behind” this planned attack. In July, Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to attack the Fairford base, warning that any base used to launch attacks against Iran would constitute a "legitimate target", according to this daily. Asked by Times Radio whether the planned attack "was motivated by a hostile foreign state", Defense Minister Wes Streeting said on Monday he did not wish to "speculate at this stage of the investigation".

The police were alerted during the night from Saturday to Sunday by a farmer living near the base. She told the BBC on Monday morning that she saw “a group of masked men” as she returned from a party. “I realized something very unusual was happening,” she said.