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Iran "categorically" denied this Monday being involved in a plot to attack a military base in England used by the United States, after several British media outlets reported that police are investigating possible involvement by the country.
Five men, all British, were arrested on Sunday morning near Fairford military base in southwestern England on suspicion of being involved in the "preparation of a terrorist act."
The Iranian embassy in London indicated on X that it rejects "categorically the recent unfounded and malicious speculation published by some individuals and British media outlets, which attempt to establish a link between Iran and the arrest of five suspects."
Members of the counter-terrorism police force conducting the investigation are "trying to determine whether the suspects have links to Iran," wrote the British newspaper The Times on Monday.
According to another newspaper, The Telegraph, police "suspect" that Iran is the most likely party behind this plot to attack the Royal Air Force (RAF) base that the US military uses in its war against Iran.
According to counter-terrorism police, the suspects are British citizens, aged between 23 and 25, and are residents of London.
When asked about the suspects, US President Donald Trump claimed to "know all about them."
"We were investigating them. They wanted to cause serious damage to our base," Trump had stated on Sunday.
- "Legitimate target" -
In March, the United Kingdom authorized the United States to use the Fairford base for "specific defensive operations directed against Iran," with the goal of destroying missiles from that country.
In July, Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to attack Fairford, warning that any base used to launch attacks against their country would constitute a "legitimate target," according to The Telegraph.
Police were alerted to the five arrested suspects by a farmer who lives near the base.
The woman told the BBC on Monday that she had seen "a group of masked men" as she was returning home.
"I realized that something very unusual was happening." "Aware that there was a threat to the security of the base," the woman, who did not wish to give her name, called the police.
A photograph of the five arrested suspects, sitting on the ground, shirtless and handcuffed during their arrest, dominated many British newspaper front pages on Monday.
- Base used by the United States -
Asked about the possibility that a country was responsible for the attack plot, British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting stated on Monday that he does not want to "speculate at this stage of the investigation."
Fairford is the British base for the 501st Combat Support Wing, an administrative unit of the US Air Force. It was previously used for operations during the Gulf War in the early 1990s and during the 2003 Iraq War.
This incident occurs in a context of growing concern regarding the actions of other countries on British soil.
British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accused Iran and Russia in July of using third parties to carry out criminal activities in the United Kingdom.
[Publicidad]