President Trump said the five men arrested near RAF Fairford had been under surveillance for a long time and were captured through cooperation with British authorities. "The arrest in the UK was fantastic. Working with Britain, it was an amazing job," Trump said, adding that the suspects "were looking to do big damage to our fort" and that "we had them under view for a long time, and we got them." He said he did not know which British force was involved, saying it may have been Scotland Yard.

The Telegraph reports that police are investigating Iran's link to the plot to bomb the airbase, which US forces have used for operations against Iran. Sources familiar with the inquiry believe Iranian operatives were directly involved rather than working through proxies, though no motive has been confirmed. The newspaper also reported that one of the three suspicious vans carried fake branding and a phone number that went nowhere when called, while the fuel delivery firm whose livery it mimicked said its vans had not moved.

The five men, first arrested in Whelford on suspicion of Explosives Act offences after police received a call at around 12:45 a.m. about three vehicles heading toward the base, were further arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and all remain in custody. Army bomb disposal specialists are examining the vehicles, which sat roughly 350 meters from the base perimeter, inside a 400 meter cordon, and about 85 households have been advised to evacuate. A temporary restricted airspace with a 4 nautical mile radius around Whelford is in place until October 5. RAF Fairford, the only base in Europe where the US keeps heavy bombers ready to fly, hosts B-1 and B-52 aircraft and remains on FPCON Delta, the highest US force protection level, while RAF Lakenheath is on FPCON Charlie. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has previously named Fairford a legitimate target, but police have not established any connection between the arrests and that threat.