Two men charged in Britain over plans to attack Fairford base — Der Spiegel

In the United Kingdom, two men have been charged in connection with alleged plans to attack the Fairford military base in England, which is also used by the US military. As Der Spiegel reports, the Crown Prosecution Service has charged one of the men with assisting a foreign intelligence service.

Details of the charges

The second man is accused of intentionally entering a restricted security area with the aim of harming the interests of the United Kingdom. At the end of September, several men suspected of preparing a terrorist attack were detained near the base.

Fairford Air Base is located about a two-hour drive from London. Around twelve US B-1 bombers were stationed at the base.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Statements on a possible link to Iran

Prime Minister Andy Burnham and British counterterrorism police stated that Iran was highly likely to be behind the incident. Burnham said that, according to the authorities' assessment, the attack was most likely coordinated from Iran and was almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also announced sanctions.

In total, six men were detained as part of the investigation and, according to the agency, are at liberty under strict conditions. At the beginning of the month, the Pentagon unexpectedly withdrew all long-range bombers from Fairford. US President Donald Trump spoke at the time about threats without providing details. The New York Times wrote that one reason for the redeployment may have been fears of a possible Iranian drone strike.