U.S. had British terrorism suspects under surveillance for ‘a long time,’ Trump says
by Susan Ferrechio, Ben Wolfgang · The Washington TimesBritish authorities arrested five men Sunday in the western England town of Whelford in an alleged terrorist bomb plot near a key military base used by American forces to launch airstrikes against Iran.
The suspects were taken into custody on “suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act,” according to British police. President Trump said the U.S. worked with British police to capture the men.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the individuals had links to terrorist organizations, nor was there any immediate indication they were connected to Iran or sympathetic to the regime in Tehran.
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But the incident comes at a delicate moment in the U.S.-Iran conflict and will raise new questions about whether Iran is targeting U.S. military facilities far from the Middle East. Top Iranian military officials recently warned of such a strategy, saying they would “expand the scope of the battlefield” if the U.S. launched new attacks.
Mr. Trump indicated that the suspects had been on the radar of both Washington and London.
“It was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great,” the president told reporters before boarding Air Force One
Police in Gloucestershire said the arrests followed a call alerting them to three suspicious vans heading toward RAF Fairford, a military installation about a mile from Whelford and a site the U.S. military has used to launch airstrikes against Iran.
Aerial footage from Britain’s Sky News appeared to show a bomb disposal robot moving between three white trucks in the area. The rear doors of two of the vans were open and large black items could be seen scattered around. The robot appeared to be working to gain access to the third truck.
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The Fairford base hosts several key U.S. military units, including the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron.
British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said it was too early to speculate on possible Iranian involvement.
“I’m not going to comment on the underlying motivations of those who’ve been arrested today, or indeed the, sort of, the genesis of their activity, I think it’s far too early to comment or speculate, and it would be irresponsible for me to do so,” he said.
Counter Terrorism Policing Senior National Coordinator Vicki Evans said authorities are working to learn more about the suspects’ intentions.
“We are in the early stages of an investigation, and five men remain in custody. As you would expect we are working closely with our partners to understand the circumstances of the incident,” Ms. Evans said.
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A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force said its personnel based at RAF Fairford “remain vigilant” but would not discuss specific force protection measures for security reasons.
“We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures we institute or modify to protect our installations, our people and their families,” the spokesperson told The Associated Press.
Gloucestershire police did not specify how many people were evacuated from the immediate area.
Under a U.S.-Britain agreement, the American military can use Fairford to launch missions deemed defensive in nature, such as striking the missile sites Iran uses to target the U.S. and its allies across the Middle East.
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British security officials say proxies linked to Iran have been behind a string of arson and sabotage attempts in Britain and other countries, many of them targeting the Jewish community. They have previously warned that Tehran could expand its targets in Britain if conflicts in the Middle East continue.
Recent comments from top Iranian military officials suggest that Tehran is actively looking for new U.S. targets.
Iranian Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, a key figure in the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said last week his country is prepared to employ new tactics if Mr. Trump launches airstrikes on Iran.
“If another aggression takes place, there will certainly be significant changes in our defense and our counterattack,” Gen. Mohebbi said, according to the country’s state-run Fars News Agency.
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“We will definitely change the geography of the war,” he said, according to English-language translations of his comments.
This article is based in part on wire-service reports.
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Susan Ferrechio
sferrechio@washingtontimes.com
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Ben Wolfgang
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