RAF Fairford plot ‘was crude arson directed by Iran’

Low-level criminals planned a crude arson attack against RAF Fairford in an Iran-backed plot, investigators believe. Detectives are examining the theory that the attempted sabotage, involving a barrel of petrol, was directed by a recruiter in the Middle East. Most commented 1 Time for Zelensky to go, Trump tells Ukraine in diesel row Russia-Ukraine war 832 comments 2 Tiger kills man who ‘jumped into’ pen at Yorkshire Wildlife Park 380 comments 3 Christa Pike discharged from hospital after botched execution US news 107 comments 4 Forget fragile defending, I’d much rather glorious attacking than a 6-3 Rugby union 18 comments 5 How John Swinney’s public sector plans revealed deep splits in SNP Scotland 10 comments Media reports in the US have claimed that Tehran was preparing a co-ordinated drone strike, prompting the Pentagon to withdraw its fleet of B-1 bombers from the Gloucestershire airbase last weekend. Top stories 1 Starbucks ‘explores takeover’ of Chipotle Mexican Grill US business However, counterterrorism investigators are sceptical that Iran has the capability to mount such an attack and are instead looking at firebombings that targeted synagogues and other Jewish sites in London this year as a more likely modus operandi. There was a heavy police presence outside RAF Fairford BEN BIRCHALL/PA Those attacks in March and April were allegedly masterminded from a bunker in Baghdad by the commander of a Shia militia linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the FBI. Advertisement Mohammad al-Saadi, 33, is accused by the US of hiring proxies in the UK and directing them in real time using Apple’s FaceTime app. Top stories 1 Mortgage rates dip after weeks of painful rises Mortgages The investigation into events at RAF Fairford has confounded the public and taken a number of twists since five men were arrested close to the airbase early on Sunday, September 27. The men were said to be wearing balaclavas and had arrived at the site in three white vans. The suspects, who are all British citizens from London aged 23 to 25, were held over explosives and terrorism offences, but later released under stringent bail conditions . Police later confirmed that no explosives were found. However, Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said a “quantity of petrol was recovered”. Police have refused to say how much, but aerial photographs of the vans suggest that at least one barrel was in the vehicles. Aerial pictures of the three vans involved BBC NEWS The Times subsequently discovered that one of the suspects had dialled 999 himself to alert police. This led to speculation that the incident might have been a dry run or a “stunt” intended to warn that Iran had the ability to strike again on UK soil. Advertisement Although these theories have not been discounted, detectives are considering the likelihood that an attack involving petrol being set alight close to the entrance or perimeter of the base was foiled. Taylor, an assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard, recently told the News Agents podcast: “We have found a quantity of petrol [at the scene] and, obviously, that is a line of inquiry for us.” Two other men from London, a 25-year-old British-Iranian dual citizen and a Briton aged 22, have also been arrested and bailed as part of the investigation. Three days after the incident, Andy Burnham, the prime minister, told BBC News: “There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford.” The IRGC warned in July that any British base used to strike Iran in its war with the US and Israel was a “legitimate target”. Advertisement Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said this month that his country had warned the UK of an impending attack at RAF Fairford on September 7. “We gave the Brits the intel, that there was going to be an attack, and it’s an Iranian-sponsored attack,” he told Fox News. The Pentagon flew 12 of its B-1 bombers back to America from Fairford last Sunday. President Trump claimed the move had been the result of a “threat”. However, Whitehall sources believe the withdrawal was made out of an abundance of caution.