A dual British-Iranian national was arrested Thursday on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, the British police said. The man was detained in connection with Sunday’s events near an air base in England that is used by the American military. The man was arrested in central London, and the police said they had searched two properties in the area. He was not named, in line with British policing rules.
“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” said Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing. There was some confusion in the statements made by the police, who initially said that the man arrested was 27 years old, and that another man, a British national, had been questioned. The police later issued a statement in correction, saying that there had not been a second man questioned, and that the man arrested was 25.
The new arrest came just days after the police arrested five men who had been traveling early Sunday morning in white vans near the air base, called R.A.F. Fairford, which has been used by American bombers in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The men were released on bail a day later after the authorities did not discover explosives in the vans. But the police have repeatedly said the men remain under investigation. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said this week that the British government believes Iran played a part in planning the events that unfolded on Sunday. Iran has denied the accusations.
The incident near the air base began at 12:45 a.m. on Sunday when one of the men in the vans called 999, the local emergency number. The authorities have not said why he called, but they quickly stopped the vans and arrested the man and four associates. All five were British nationals from London in their early 20s, the police said. The events rattled residents of the small villages around the air base, which is about 90 miles west of London. After the men were arrested, the police evacuated about 85 families from nearby homes while a bomb disposal robot searched the vehicles.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing