Two men charged over suspected RAF Fairford airbase terror plot

​Two men ⁠have been charged ​with offences ⁠under ‌the UK's National ​Security Act following an incident in September at RAF Fairford, ​an ‌airbase ⁠used ​by ​the ‌US ⁠to strike ⁠Iran. Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, while Nouman Essghir, 24, was charged with one offence of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/">UK.</a> Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of national counter terrorism policing, said ​police believed Abdulkarim was assisting <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iran/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iran/">Iran</a>.

The <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/">US</a> ⁠removed its bombers from the base in Gloucestershire, south-west England on security grounds shortly after five British men were arrested nearby in the early hours of September 27. A major incident had been declared after three suspicious vehicles were seen near the airbase. A 25-year-old UK-Iranian dual national has been released without charge following his re-arrest last week.

He remains on police bail following his initial arrest at the start of October, counterterror police said. A total of eight men have been arrested in the investigation. Six of the men remain on police bail. “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute two individuals with National Security Act offences following a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into a high-profile incident involving RAF Fairford,” said Frank Ferguson, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division.

“We will continue to work closely with our partners as this complex investigation continues.” British Prime Minister <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/andy-burnham/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/andy-burnham/">Andy Burnham</a> said at the end of last month ⁠that the activity at Fairford was <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2026/09/30/new-twist-in-fairford-airbase-mystery-as-suspect-called-999-himself/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2026/09/30/new-twist-in-fairford-airbase-mystery-as-suspect-called-999-himself/">likely to have been co-ordinated in Iran.</a>