UK Terror Probe Tied to US Bomber Base Grows to Six Arrests, Air Force Pulls Planes From RAF Fairford

British counterterrorism police arrested five men in the early hours of Sunday, September 27, 2026, near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, a base that hosts U.S. Air Force B-1B and B-52H bombers used to strike Iranian targets. Police were alerted around 12:45 a.m. to three suspicious vehicles heading toward the base, according to a Metropolitan Police statement reported by the Daily Wire.

Armed officers detained the men in the nearby village of Whelford on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act, then rearrested them on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism. Police evacuated roughly 85 households to a nearby leisure center and set up a 400-meter cordon while Army bomb disposal specialists examined the vehicles, according to the Daily Wire and Military Watch Magazine.

"We are in the early stages of an investigation, and five men remain in custody," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Counter Terrorism Policing's senior national coordinator, per the Daily Wire. Gloucestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone said emergency plans for major incidents had been activated.

An Associated Press dispatch carried by Breitbart on the day of the arrests noted that police "did not confirm the arrests were linked to the base." This caveat is important, though some subsequent coverage emphasized the security threat more heavily.

The Iran Connection

RAF Fairford, 100 miles west of London, has served as a forward hub for U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, 2026, according to a follow-up AP report carried by 2News. Aviation trackers such as the Military Air Tracking Alliance documented dozens of B-1 and B-52 sorties flying out of Fairford during that campaign.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has previously declared that bases used to strike Iranian territory are "legitimate targets," a warning Iranian state-linked media repeated in July regarding Fairford specifically, according to Military Watch Magazine. Iran has denied any involvement in the Fairford plot, per the AP report.

In the days after the initial arrests, a dual British-Iranian national was arrested in central London on suspicion of plotting a terror attack connected to the Fairford incident, the AP reported. In total, six people have been taken into custody and then released on bail as the investigation continues. No charges have been filed against any of the six.

Trump Weighs In, Dodges on Migrants

President Trump praised the operation while speaking to reporters Sunday, September 27. "The arrest in the UK was fantastic. Working with Britain, it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation," Trump said, adding the suspects were "looking to do big damage" and had been monitored "for a long time."

Asked directly whether the suspects were migrants, Trump did not give a straight answer. "It may have been Scotland Yard. I don't know that we worked with a lot of them. We had them under review for a long time and we got them," he said, according to Fox News. Authorities have not publicly identified the suspects' nationalities or immigration status.

Newly installed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham thanked Gloucestershire Police, Counter Terrorism Policing and the Armed Forces in a statement, saying "the safety and security of the public is our first priority." Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said the situation was "being dealt with."

A Caution Worth Taking Seriously

In a commentary for the Epoch Times, Armstrong Williams argued the public should resist turning an active investigation into a verdict. "The possible Iran connection is serious, but it must be described carefully," Williams wrote, noting British counterterrorism police are investigating whether Iran directed the plot but "that is a lead, not a finding." Williams notes that authorities have not publicly established who, if anyone, directed the suspects or what role a foreign government may have played. This distinction between alleged and proven applies regardless of how the story gets framed politically.

Bombers Pulled Out

As of this weekend, the U.S. Air Force has withdrawn all of its bombers from RAF Fairford, redeploying them to home bases in the United States, a Pentagon official told the AP on condition of anonymity. Aviation observers reported B-1 bombers flying out of the base on Sunday, October 4.

The withdrawal comes as Trump weighs further strikes on Iran despite having initially promised Americans the campaign would last only weeks. "We have decisions that I'll make about Iran. Iran's been decimated. So the only question is, it'll either be the easy way, or the hard way," Trump told reporters Saturday, October 3, before departing for a rally in Ohio.

A U.S. official told the AP that the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier and the USS Malkin Island amphibious group, carrying more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines, are heading toward the Middle East and could bring the total to three carriers in the region by the end of October.

Military Watch Magazine reported that Fairford's security posture may have been raised to FPCON Delta, the U.S. military's highest force-protection level, though the Air Force has not confirmed that and declined to discuss specific measures. What remains unresolved is whether the bomber withdrawal is a direct response to the thwarted plot, a routine rotation ahead of possible new Iran strikes, or both.