Fairford plot suspects are British men in their 20s from London, police say

Update, 28 September, 15:08 Israel time

All five men arrested over the suspected plot near RAF Fairford are British citizens, according to Counter Terrorism Policing. The Times of Israel reported that police said the suspects are all from London and all in their 20s. Police have still not named them, and no charges appear in the reports received.

N12's foreign desk, quoting the counterterrorism unit of the British police, reported that the inquiry has opened up several new lines of investigation. The unit did not say what those lines are, according to the material received. Ynet's alerts service also reported that every one of the detained men holds British citizenship.

The Times of Israel said it remains unclear what motivated the men, or whether they were acting on behalf of Iran or of Russia. This is the first report received to raise Russia as a possibility; earlier reporting, citing Sky News, referred only to a possible Iranian role. Neither the police statements quoted so far nor the new reports attribute the plot to any foreign state.

An AP photograph published with the Times of Israel report shows police guarding a road that leads to the base.

Update, 28 September, 10:07 Israel time

A resident of Whelford who spotted the suspects' vehicles late at night may be the reason the arrests happened, according to Ynet. Ynet reported that a local farm worker, driving home from a party after midnight, came across the suspicious vehicles blocking a quiet rural road close to the base. She told the outlet she saw men she described as Middle Eastern, wearing knitted hats, and that the vehicles displayed a phone number with a digit missing.

According to Ynet, the men panicked when they saw her and ran off into the fields. She called the police and then posted a warning in the village WhatsApp group telling neighbours to lock their doors. She has asked not to be named, and Ynet quoted her as saying she had disrupted everything the men had planned.

Ynet presented her account as the probable reason the suspects were caught. The account is hers as relayed by Ynet; police have not described how the vehicles were first noticed, and the statements quoted so far do not mention a call from a resident or men fleeing into fields.

A further Jerusalem Post report repeated that UK police are investigating a suspected Iranian role, and carried an AFP photograph of a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber on the tarmac at Fairford during the investigation. Israel Hayom now reports that five men were arrested for preparing a terrorist act, in line with the police statement.

Update, 28 September, 03:07 Israel time

The US Embassy has urged caution following the arrests near RAF Fairford, according to The Jerusalem Post. The Jerusalem Post reported the embassy's call for caution alongside Trump's remarks, which it summarised as saying Washington worked with British authorities to detain the five terror suspects. The material received does not set out the wording of the embassy's message, who it was addressed to, or whether it came with specific guidance. No new statement from British police or the UK government appears in the reports received.

A photograph carried with the Jerusalem Post report shows emergency vehicles parked at Fairford Youth Football club, close to the base.

Abu Ali Express published a fresh post that restates the early account: a major incident declared in Whelford and several men detained on suspicion of explosives offences. It does not reflect the police confirmation that five men are held on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, and it adds nothing on a possible Iranian role.

Update, 27 September, 19:08 Israel time

British police are examining whether Iran was behind the suspected plot near RAF Fairford, according to a Sky News report relayed by Israeli outlets. N12's foreign desk, citing Sky News, reported that UK police are looking into a possible Iranian role in the attempted attack close to the air base. Ynet's alerts service carried a similar report, describing the attack as foiled. Neither report quotes British police or officials directly on an Iran link, and police statements cited so far have not named any motive or foreign involvement.

Trump's English wording has now been published. The Times of Israel reported that Trump, speaking during a visit to Chicago, said the suspects wanted to do "big damage to our fort" and that US authorities had been investigating them, adding that they had been "under view for a long time" before they were caught. He credited cooperation with the British. Ynet's alerts service rendered his remarks in Hebrew as saying the suspects planned a significant attack.

The Times of Israel described the five as arrested on terrorism-related charges. Police have so far said only that the men are held on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, and no charges have been announced in the reports received.

Update, 27 September, 18:07 Israel time

Police have now confirmed that five men were arrested, and say they are suspected of preparing a terrorist act. The Times of Israel reported that London's Metropolitan Police gave the figure and the suspicion in a statement, in which Counter Terrorism Policing formally confirmed it is leading the inquiry into what it described as an overnight incident near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Until now police had spoken only of several arrests under the Explosives Act. Ynet's alerts service likewise said the five detained men are suspected of terrorism.

The official statements quoted so far do not describe the contents of the vans, name the suspects or identify any intended target.

Political reaction has begun. N12's foreign desk reported that a British government spokesperson said the prime minister is being kept regularly informed following the arrests. N12 described the suspects as having planned a car bomb attack near the American base. That characterisation is N12's own and is not contained in the police statement.

N12 correspondent Asaf Rosenzweig also reported that US President Donald Trump commented on the arrests, saying the suspects had intended to cause great damage. The remark was relayed in Hebrew, and Trump's exact English wording has not been published in the reports received.

Update, 27 September, 15:07 Israel time

British counterterrorism police have taken over the investigation into the arrests near RAF Fairford, The Times of Israel reported. Police described the situation as appearing "contained" but have not confirmed that the arrests are connected to the base. The same report said aerial footage from Sky News appeared to show a bomb disposal robot moving among three white trucks, two with their rear doors open and large black objects visible around them. Residents moved out of properties in Whelford were taken to a nearby leisure centre.

Ynet reported that a Whelford resident filmed the arrest of at least five men before dawn, showing them handcuffed and shirtless at the roadside under a large light. Ynet said bomb disposal teams were called to three commercial vehicles and suggested, without official confirmation, that the men may have been checked for explosive belts.

N12, relaying the Daily Mail, said counterterrorism officers arrested five men over a suspected car bomb plot against American forces at the base, and that the three vans found beside them were suspected of holding explosive devices. Police have not publicly confirmed the plot, the contents of the vans or any intended target.

The story as first reported

Police in Britain have detained several men suspected of explosives offences in the area around RAF Fairford, a southwest England air base that American forces have used for strikes on Iran. The Times of Israel, citing Reuters, reported on Sunday that Gloucestershire Police declared a major incident, and that soldiers were checking several vehicles, following a tightening of security at the base.

According to a Gloucestershire Police statement quoted in that report, residents of some homes around Whelford, a village close to the base, were being moved out, and the arrests were made under the Explosives Act. A Reuters eyewitness described armed officers blocking access to the base's main gate, with around 30 emergency vehicles, among them police cars, ambulances and fire engines, gathered in the nearby village of Fairford. Abu Ali Express reported that police said the incident was under control and the area had been sealed off, and Ynet likewise carried a British statement that the situation was under control.

What RAF Fairford is

RAF stands for Royal Air Force, the British air arm. RAF Fairford is a British base in Gloucestershire, in southwest England, but it hosts American forces and has served as a deployment site for US bombers. Photographs published alongside the reports show US Air Force ground crews there preparing munitions for a B-1 Lancer bomber on March 12, 2026, and munitions being unloaded from a cargo plane on March 26, 2026.

Haaretz, carrying a Reuters dispatch, described the base as one used by US forces for strikes on Iranian missile sites. The Times of Israel added that the British government had authorised Washington to use Fairford to hit Iranian missile sites that were firing on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Abu Ali Express said American bombers have flown from the base since the conflict with Iran began in late February.

Iranian threats and a raised alert

Ynet reported that Iran had previously threatened to target Fairford if American bombers kept taking off from it for attacks on Iranian territory. The same outlet said security at the base had been increased over recent days and, citing a report, that a "Delta" alert had been declared there, which it described as the highest level.

Channel 12 news (N12), in a post by its correspondent Asaf Rosenzweig, attributed the Delta detail to the British newspaper the Daily Mail. According to N12, Delta is the highest threat level the US Department of Defense can declare for a facility.

The vehicles and the question of car bombs

The official account is limited to the army examining vehicles. The Times of Israel report quotes police as referring to the army's specialist explosive ordnance disposal teams, the military bomb disposal units, and Israel Hayom said these teams inspected vehicles as emergency crews responded.

Beyond that, the reports diverge in tone. Ynet's headline spoke of suspected car bombs and said bomb disposal experts were called out over fears that vehicles had been rigged. N12, relaying the Daily Mail, said the possibility of a car bomb threat against the base was being looked into but stressed that no official had confirmed it. Readers should treat the car bomb element as reported speculation rather than an established fact.

How the story broke

Early word came through Hebrew-language alert channels, with Ynet's alerts service flashing a British report of arrests in an explosives incident at the US air force base. Fuller accounts followed from Reuters material carried by English-language Israeli outlets. The core facts, several arrests under the Explosives Act, a major incident declaration, evacuations in Whelford and army checks on vehicles, are consistent across all of them.

What the reports do not say

• How many men were arrested, who they are, or whether they have been charged. Police said only "several".
• Whether any explosives or devices were actually found in the vehicles being examined.
• Whether police believe the suspects intended to target the base, or what motive, if any, is suspected.
• How many properties were evacuated, or when residents may return.
• Whether the Delta alert has been officially confirmed by US or British authorities. It rests on a Daily Mail report.
• Whether operations at the base were affected.