Counter-terrorism police have re-arrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service after an incident near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire last month.
A 24-year-old UK national and a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national are being held under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023, counter-terrorism police said. Police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles near the US airbase in the early hours of 27 September. The incident led to the declaration of a major alert and the evacuation of dozens of homes.
Seven men were initially arrested as part of the investigation. Five of those men were found with petrol in three vans near the airbase and were initially arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act, then further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act. Those five men remain on police bail.
The two re-arrested men include a 24-year-old arrested near the base on 27 September and a 25-year-old arrested in Westminster on 1 October on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, said: "We consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement." He added that investigators are working to determine the level of that involvement and its intent. "Our investigators are continuing to examine what that level of involvement was and the ambition behind it," Taylor said.
Taylor noted that national security investigations require time to progress due to their sensitive nature. "Our specialist teams have been working tirelessly to interrogate the many lines of enquiry involved in this hugely complex investigation," he said.
Gloucestershire Police received a call about the suspicious vehicles at 00:45 BST on 27 September. A bomb disposal team was deployed to examine vehicles in the village.