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British counter-terrorism police investigating a suspected plot involving an air base used by the U.S. to target Iran said on Thursday they had arrested a dual U.K.-Iranian national on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.
In an incident that triggered a major police response, raised alarm among Western allies and remains largely unexplained, five British men in their 20s were arrested Sunday near RAF Fairford in western England on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences.
The men were later released without charge on police bail. But counter-terrorism police said they were investigating whether a foreign state had been involved, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday the incident might have had an Iranian link.
Iran has said accusations that it was involved are baseless and on Thursday summoned the British ambassador in Tehran over the issue.
In the latest development, police said they had arrested the 25-year-old dual national in London.
“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” Britain’s senior national co-ordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, Vicki Evans, said in a statement.
“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles — including possible foreign state involvement.”
Police launched a major operation early Sunday “due to a range of information” including an alert from a local farmer who became suspicious after seeing the men near the base in three vans.
However, the Times reported that one of the men had also called emergency services shortly before being arrested.
Detectives have confirmed that although petrol was found in the vans used by the men, no improvised explosive device was found.
Burnham said Britain was working closely with the U.S., whose bombers have in recent months used Fairford to launch missions against Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not have released the men, whom police said were only freed under stringent conditions.
Trump previously said those involved had planned “big damage” while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also pointed to the “hands of a foreign actor” in the incident.
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