UK-Iranian dual national arrested in US airbase RAF Fairford incident, police say

British authorities on Thursday arrested a 27-year-old man with dual United Kingdom and Iranian nationality in connection to the thwarted alleged terrorist attack earlier this week on a U.S.-operated air base owned by the U.K.

The man was arrested in the City of Westminster, London, “on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts” after British police looked into suspicious activity outside RAF Fairford air base late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, according to U.K. counterterrorism police.

A second man, 26, who is a U.K. national, also has been questioned in relation to the incident, and police have searched two properties in London.

Authorities on Sunday initially arrested five men on explosives and terror charges near RAF Fairford — about 90 miles west of London in the county of Gloucestershire — after a local farmer called police over three suspicious vehicles and men wearing masks near the base late Saturday night. The men, all five of whom are British nationals in their 20s, were released on bail a day later.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday his government believes that Iran “played a part” in the incident.

“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for the U.K.’s Counter Terrorism Policing, said of the latest arrest.

“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles — including possible foreign state involvement. I’d like to thank the public for their continued support and patience whilst we work through this investigation,” she added.

The U.S. has used RAF Fairford to position B-52 and B-1 bombers as part of the Trump administration’s war against Iran .

Tehran over the summer threatened that “any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces,” though it has denied it had anything to do with recent events at RAF Fairford.

The Iranian Embassy in the U.K. said in a Monday statement that it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” regarding the Islamic Republic’s potential role in the incident.