Three Iran-backed suspects plotted attacks, including RAF Fairford incident, US says

On 27 September, authorities declared a major incident near the RAF Fairford airbase in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, after three suspicious vans were observed close to the site, the US Department of Justice said.

Police found no explosives in the vehicles, but seized a quantity of petrol, according to the DOJ.

The department alleged that in August, al-Hassani "allegedly directed and paid associates" in the United Kingdom to "conduct preparatory steps and arrange logistics for the RAF Fairford terrorist plot".

It added that on 22 August al-Hassani paid an individual to "perform pre‑operational surveillance of RAF Fairford's perimeter" and that later in September he funded several people to help ready the scheme.

The statement said the funding covered "procuring vans and barrels of fuel, researching the purchase of chemical accelerants, including large quantities of potassium chloride, and purchasing metallic objects that could be used as explosive shrapnel".

The suspects disguised the vans to look like a fuel‑delivery service and a swimming‑pool supply firm, the DOJ noted.

On 26 September al-Hassani allegedly instructed drivers to take three vans, some later found to contain fuel barrels, toward the RAF Fairford base and maintained frequent contact with them to direct their movements.

At least two of the vans were stopped by a security roadblock before reaching the perimeter, and in the early hours of 27 September a local farmer returning from a party spotted the vehicles and alerted police.

The Iranian embassy in London said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" what it described as "unfounded and malicious speculations" linking Iran to the incident.

Two British nationals appeared in court last month in connection with the alleged Iran‑linked plot.

Following the episode, the United States withdrew all its bombers from RAF Fairford, with President Donald Trump citing "some threats" to the base as the reason.

RAF Fairford has hosted US Air Force operations for decades and, in recent months, B‑1 and B‑52 bombers have been dispatched from the site for "defensive" strikes on Iran.

In July Iran warned that "any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces".