Two Londoners Charged With Aiding Iranian Intelligence in RAF Fairford Plot

Two men have been charged with serious security offenses in Britain after being arrested in connection with last month's incident near RAF Fairford, the English air base the U.S. military used to launch strikes on Iran, the U.K. Crown Prosecution Service said Tuesday. Mohmed Abdulkarim and Nouman Essghir, both 24-year-old British nationals living in London, were charged under the 2023 National Security Act.

Abdulkarim was charged with "assisting a foreign intelligence service" in September and with "engaging in conduct that was likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out U.K.-related activities." The CPS said Essghir was charged with a national security offense after he approached or was in the vicinity of a prohibited place, with conduct he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, was prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.

Both men were arrested last week on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service in a suspected plot targeting the base. Abdulkarim was arrested by Counter Terror Police under the National Security Act along with a 25-year-old British-Iranian dual national, who was released on bail while the investigation continues.

The charges follow a dramatic night on Sept. 27, when five men were detained near the base in western England. Residents of a nearby town were evacuated from their homes as armed police and bomb-disposal experts searched the area. Officers found gasoline in three vans that had been driven by the five initial suspects and parked close to an entrance to the base. They found no explosives. All five men were released on bail but remain under investigation and will be monitored, police said.

Police said Tuesday that six men remain free on bail in relation to the incident. Four of them were arrested on Sept. 27, all U.K. nationals and London residents in their 20s. Two others were detained afterward, including the 25-year-old dual U.K.-Iranian national who was held on Oct. 1.

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the government believes Iran "played a part" in the incident, which prompted the U.S. Air Force to remove all of its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford. The base has been home to American long-range bombers for years and was used during the war with Iran to launch strikes on the Islamic Republic. Iranian officials have said repeatedly that any bases used to attack the country would be considered legitimate targets.

The Iranian Embassy in London has rejected the link. In a previous statement it said the regime "categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations published by some British individuals and media outlets attempting to link Iran" to the incident. Police are still investigating a suspected terror plot against Fairford, and the new charges are the first to name Iranian intelligence in court filings connected to the case. The charged men are expected to face further court proceedings.