Two London men, both 24, were charged on Tuesday under Britain's National Security Act 2023 over the suspected plot around RAF Fairford, the Gloucestershire air base run by the U.S. Air Force and used by American bombers — including for this year's strikes on Iran. Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim is charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, which police say they believe is Iran's. Nouman Essghir is charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom. Both men are from the borough of Westminster in London, and both were due before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
The charge against Abdulkarim, brought under Section 3 of the Act, says that between August 31 and September 28 he engaged in conduct likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities, knowing — or being in a position where he ought reasonably to have known — that his conduct would likely do so. Section 3 makes it an offence to assist a foreign intelligence service. Essghir's charge, under Section 4, concerns suspected activity on Saturday, August 22: police say he approached or was in the vicinity of a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK. He was first arrested at the scene in Gloucestershire on Sunday, September 27, and was re-arrested on October 20.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, set out the police position plainly: "In this case, we believe that country to be Iran." He said officers have seen a range of incidents in recent months that they believe have been directed by the Iranian state, and that — as the Director General of MI5 said just the other week — the security services are working together to intervene, identify and respond to that threat. He also urged the public to report anything that worries them, saying those reports can and do make a difference.
The decision to charge was confirmed by Frank Ferguson, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, who said the CPS has decided to prosecute the two men following the Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into a high-profile incident involving RAF Fairford, and that prosecutors will continue to work closely with partners as this complex investigation continues.
The case reaches back to the early hours of Sunday, September 27, when police received reports of suspicious vehicles close to the base. Armed officers responded and arrested five men at the scene, near the village of Whelford, on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and later of preparation of a terrorist act. Residents were evacuated from their homes while the three vehicles were examined with military and forensic support and bomb-disposal units deployed to the area. Police later confirmed that no improvised explosive devices were found in the vehicles — but a quantity of petrol was recovered. The five men were released on police bail the following day, under strict conditions, while remaining under investigation.
The investigation widened from there. A 25-year-old dual UK/Iranian national was arrested in Westminster on October 1, and a 22-year-old man was arrested in the same borough on October 6; seven men in total have been arrested. Two men were re-arrested on October 20 and held under a warrant of further detention, and detectives interviewed a further man under caution. The 25-year-old dual national has since been released without charge, though he remains on police bail following his first arrest, and the five other men arrested in connection with the investigation also remain on police bail.
RAF Fairford is a British base that hosts the U.S. Air Force — the main forward base in Europe for America's heavy bombers. B-52s and B-1 Lancers deploy there on Bomber Task Force rotations, and this year the base was used by U.S. bombers carrying out strikes on Iran, after Britain approved its use for what London described as defensive strikes. Around a dozen B-1B Lancers were stationed at Fairford at the time of the September incident. Shortly after the arrests outside the base, the U.S. bombers were withdrawn from Fairford on security grounds.
For the United States, this is not a distant British police matter. The aircraft at Fairford are American, the crews are American, and the missions flown from that runway this year struck Iran. An alleged foreign-intelligence operation aimed at that base is, in practical terms, aimed at American air power on allied soil — and the case has already drawn Washington in: U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, criticised the earlier decision to release the suspects on bail while the investigation continued.
Britain's prime minister has blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the suspected plot. Iran denies any involvement: its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said Britain is "barking up the wrong tree", and Tehran has dismissed the claims against it as false-flag operations. Those are the two governments' positions. What the evidence actually shows is now a matter for the court.
Both men were due to make their first appearance at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. The charges are allegations: proceedings against them are active, both men have the right to a fair trial, and nothing has been proven against either of them. Police stress that the investigation is continuing and remains complex.
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