Two men charged over RAF Fairford incident

Two men have been charged with national security offenses in connection with a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford, the U.K. Crown Prosecution Service announced Tuesday.

Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, and Nouman Essghir, 24, are British nationals who live in London. They were charged under the 2023 National Security Act following their arrests last week. Abdulkarim faces charges for assisting a foreign intelligence service in September and engaging in conduct likely to materially assist that service in U.K.-related activities. Essghir was charged with approaching a prohibited place for a purpose he knew was prejudicial to U.K. safety or interests.

Police arrested Abdulkarim and a 25-year-old British-Iranian dual national under the National Security Act. The dual national has been released on bail pending further investigation. Both men are accused of assisting Iran's intelligence service in England.

The charges follow the initial detention of five men near the base in western England on Sept. 27. All five were released on bail but remain under investigation and monitoring. Residents of a nearby town were evacuated as armed police and bomb-disposal experts searched the area. Investigators found gasoline in three vans driven by the initial suspects, which were parked near a base entrance, but no explosives were recovered.

RAF Fairford has housed U.S. long-range bombers for years and was used to launch strikes on Iran during the recent conflict. U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham commented on the incident, which prompted a U.S. Air Force response. Iranian officials stated that bases used to attack the country are legitimate targets. The Iranian Embassy in London, however, rejected links between the regime and the incident, calling recent speculations unfounded and malicious.

Six men remain free on bail in relation to the incident. Four were arrested on Sept. 27 and are U.K. nationals in their 20s from London. Two others were detained later, including the dual national arrested on Oct. 1. Police continue to monitor all individuals on bail as the investigation proceeds.