Seventh arrest in UK terror plot targeting US airbase

British counter-terrorism police arrested a 22-year-old man in London on Tuesday on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism, in connection with the ongoing investigation into a terror plot targeting the US Air Force base at Fairford. The arrest is the seventh in a case that has drawn international attention after US President Donald Trump said Iranian-linked threats led to the emergency removal of American B-1 bombers from the base.

The suspect was arrested in Westminster, central London, and officers conducted a thorough search of a property in the area. He remains in custody, the Counter Terrorism Policing unit said.

Vicky Evans, senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, said "this is still a live investigation and our specialist teams continue to pursue multiple lines of inquiry around the circumstances surrounding the events near Fairford airbase."

Six other men in their twenties who were arrested earlier in connection with the investigation remain released on police bail while proceedings continue. Among those arrested earlier this month was a dual British-Iranian national.

The case began in late September when a local farmer reported suspicious activity near the base: several men with commercial vehicles. Security forces rushed to the area in large numbers, and five suspects were eventually arrested. It later emerged that one of the suspects himself had called police about an hour before the farmer's report.

No explosives were found in the three vans located near the base, but a quantity of fuel was discovered. Lawrence Taylor, head of the counter-terrorism unit, said "the vehicles were examined in depth, with the assistance of military assets and forensic identification experts."

Trump and the emergency evacuation

US President Donald Trump revealed that a specific Iranian-linked threat led to the rapid evacuation of B-1 aircraft from Britain. The Pentagon confirmed that "all American bombers that were stationed at Fairford have returned to their home stations in the US." The evacuation was so urgent that some air crews took off before their aerial refueling aircraft had completed preparations.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed for the first time officially that his government believes Iran was involved in the incident. "More will be said in due course but we can confirm... that we believe Iran had a part in this," Burnham told the BBC.

Iran has firmly rejected the accusations. The Iranian embassy in London said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" any "baseless and malicious speculation" linking Iran to the incident.

Trump publicly expressed doubt about the decision to release the suspects on bail. "I'll tell you, I would say, 'Don't give him bail.' I'm surprised they released them. I wouldn't have done it," the president said in an interview at the White House.