President Donald Trump said the five men arrested near RAF Fairford had been under US investigation for a long time and were seeking to do "big damage" to the airbase, praising the arrests as a joint operation with Britain. "We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great," Trump told reporters. "We had them under view for a long time, and we got them."

The claim contrasts with the account of how the plot was stopped. The Telegraph reported that a farmer driving home from a party near the base spotted three white vans blocking a country road and masked men in balaclavas scattering toward the airbase, then called police, with armed officers arresting the five men within 25 minutes. RAF Fairford had raised its force protection level to Delta, the highest US level, hours before her call, and the US Air Force declined to discuss specific security measures. One van carried fake Fuel2You branding and a phone number that went nowhere when dialed, and the fuel delivery firm whose livery it copied said none of its vans had moved.

Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation and are examining whether Iran was linked to the plot, Sky News reported, with sources close to the inquiry telling the Telegraph that Iranian agents may have been directly involved rather than working through proxies. Police have not confirmed a motive. The five men remain in custody on suspicion of Explosives Act offences and preparing a terrorist act, while Army bomb disposal teams examine the vans inside a 400 meter cordon and about 85 households in Whelford have been advised to evacuate. Fairford is a key hub for US bomber operations and was a major launch point for strikes on Iran earlier this year.