British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday that the United Kingdom government believes Iran “played a part” in an incident near RAF Fairford over the weekend. Police arrested five men on suspicion of terrorism offenses after an eyewitness reported them driving towards the base, which also houses U.S. forces.

“There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford, but of course it remains an ongoing, complex, and serious police investigation. And of course, we are working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America,” Burnham said while speaking with reporters at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

“We will say more in due course, but we can confirm our belief that we believe Iran to have played a part.” Asked for the basis of the assessment, Burnham said: “Well I can’t go into all of those details, but obviously I wouldn’t say it lightly,” he added.

He further confirmed Iranian involvement in a separate interview. “We have been waiting to confirm what we could say, but we can now confirm our belief that Iran played a part. I will update people more in due course, but just at this moment I want to thank Gloucestershire police, the counterterrorism police, for the outstanding job that they’ve done,” Burnham, who took office this past Summer following the resignation of Kier Starmer, told reporters.

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BREAKING: 🇬🇧🇮🇷 UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham officially accuses Iran of involvement in the RAF Fairford incident

Despite that the UK authorities announced that it was just random thieves smuggling oil and they were released. pic.twitter.com/tkhARyKDih

— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) September 30, 2026

The incident began on the morning of September 27, when police eceived calls about three suspicious white vans near Whelford, a village adjacent to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. One of the five men later arrested made an initial emergency call.

A local resident also reported seeing masked men near the vehicles. Armed officers arrested five British nationals, aged 23 to 25 and all from London (four from Westminster, one from Camden), first on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act and then on suspiscion of preparation of a terrorist act under section 5 of the Terrorism Act.

About 85 homes were evacuated, a 400-meter cordon established, and military explosive ordnance disposal teams, including a bomb-disposal robot, examined the vans. On Tuesday, police reported that examinations found no improvised explosive devices but recovered a quantity of gasoline.

Properties linked to the men in London were searched. The five were released on police bail Monday under stringent conditions restricting movement and contact, and they remain under investigation with no charges filed. Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor described the bail decision as grounded in operational experience and said multiple lines of inquiry continue, including whether individuals acted as proxies for a foreign state, knowingly or otherwise.

Properties linked to the men in London were searched. The five were released on police bail Monday under stringent conditions restricting movement and contact; they remain under investigation with no charges filed. Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor described the bail decision as grounded in operational experience and said multiple lines of inquiry continue, including whether individuals acted as proxies for a foreign state, knowingly or otherwise.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stated that the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” though exact details remain limited as of this report.

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