Germany

Berlin, September 28, 2026. Five men were arrested on Sunday, September 27, near the RAF airbase in Fairford, Gloucestershire, after a call reported around 0:45 three suspicious vans heading towards the facility. The British anti-terrorist police have taken over the investigation, suspecting the preparation of an attack and explosives law offenses. An army bomb disposal team examined the vehicles, a 400-meter security zone was established, and about 85 homes in the neighboring hamlet of Whelford were evacuated. "We are at an early stage of the investigation, and five men remain in detention," said National Counter Terrorism Coordinator Vicki Evans, quoted by the German press. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is being continuously informed of the situation.

The German press emphasizes the context that gives the case its "political explosiveness," according to Tagesschau: Fairford is not an ordinary British base. Since March, the US military has deployed long-range bombers there, and the British Ministry of Defense has confirmed that London authorized Washington to conduct "specific defense operations" against Iran from British soil, including strikes on missile sites threatening the Strait of Hormuz. This American use had been, according to Zeit Online, "heavily debated" at the beginning of the war. In July, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had warned the UK not to allow American bombers to take off from Fairford, a base that would then become, in their view, a legitimate target.

Donald Trump welcomed the arrests, stating that the suspects wanted to "cause major damage" and that they had been monitored by British and American authorities "for a long time." German media report, without taking a stance, that several leads are being explored by investigators, without identifying a sponsor at this stage. For Berlin, the episode illustrates how the British military engagement alongside Washington against Tehran brings the UK territory closer to the front lines of a conflict that Germany has been observing from the sidelines, aware that its own bases could one day find themselves in a comparable position.