The British police arrested five men on Sunday on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism after receiving a call around 1 a.m. about three suspicious vehicles headed toward an English air force base used by the American military.
The base, R.A.F. Fairford, is primarily used by the United States Air Force to deploy some of its largest bombers and it has been at the center of controversy this year over its role in the American-Israeli war against Iran.
In July, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps issued a statement warning the British government that a decision to allow American bombers to conduct strikes against Iran would make “London responsible for” any consequences.
“Any base used to launch attacks on Iranian territory is a legitimate target for our forces,” it said. It is not yet clear whether Sunday’s incident is connected to the conflict in the Middle East.
When asked by reporters on Sunday about the arrests, President Trump responded: “Working with Britain — it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation,” he added, appearing to refer to the suspects. “They were looking to do big damage.”
Officials said they had evacuated more than 85 homes in the rural village outside the air base in southern England early Sunday morning. On Sunday afternoon, hours after the arrests, aerial footage showed what appeared to be a bomb disposal robot continuing to operate near three white vans.
“A 400-meter cordon has been put in place around the vehicles while the army’s explosive ordnance disposal unit conduct examinations,” Vicki Evans, the deputy assistant commissioner of the British counterterrorism police, said in a statement.
Ms. Evans said that counterterrorism police were leading the investigation. She said that the five men remained in custody under suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act” and “suspicion of committing offenses under the Explosives Act.”
In line with British policing rules that grant public anonymity to suspects until they are charged, the men were not named.
Officials did not provide any further information about what the five men were suspected of doing and the local police took no questions during a brief appearance in front of reporters.
American B52 and B-1 bombers loaded with munitions have repeatedly taken off from Fairford on missions to Iran since the war there began in February. The previous British prime minister, Keir Starmer, initially refused to allow President Trump to use the base for strikes at the start of the conflict, but later gave permission for what he called “defensive” operations. His successor, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, has continued that policy, officials said.
Richard Ocone, the assistant chief constable for the Gloucestershire Police, the local force in the area containing the air base, said the incident had begun at around 12:45 a.m., when his department received a call about three suspicious vehicles traveling toward the base.
“The emergency services have well-rehearsed plans for dealing with major incidents such as this,” he said, adding that “we are working closely with our partners in counterterrorism policing.”
Earlier, a police statement said that the authorities believed the incident was “contained.”
Wes Streeting, the British secretary of defense, thanked emergency responders in a post on social media.
“We can be reassured that this is being dealt with, and it is exactly why our emergency response teams and Armed Forces are on standby 24/7,” he said.
The United States Air Force referred questions about the incident at the base, which is home to both the 501st Combat Support Wing Headquarters and the 420th Air Base Squadron, to British authorities.
In a statement, it said: “U.S. European Command remains vigilant and will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of our U.S. service members, civilians, contractors, and their families across the European theater. We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures we institute or modify to protect our installations, our people and their families.”
Fairford has been an American base of operations for decades. The station opened in preparation for D-Day in 1944. With a runway more than 9,990 feet long, it is one of only a few European airfields that can be used by heavy U.S. bombers.
In the past two years, there have also been several so-called hybrid attacks — hostile actions devised to evade culpability — in Britain and Europe that intelligence officials say were probably carried out by Russia or people connected to it, or by proxies operating on behalf of Iran.
In Britain, two men were convicted in June of conspiring to carry out arson attacks targeting properties and a car linked to Mr. Starmer after one of them was recruited by a Russian-language Telegram account.
The fires at two houses and a vehicle, all of which Mr. Starmer had owned or used, happened over five days in May 2025.
The British Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Sunday that Mr. Burnham was “being kept updated” about events near R.A.F. Fairford and confirmed that the authorities had detained “several suspects.”
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