RAF Fairford: Man accused of assisting foreign intelligence service

Britain said it had charged a man with the offense of assisting a “foreign intelligence service” following an incident at a military base used by the United States for strikes against Iran.

Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, was charged under the National Security Act “following an incident involving RAF Fairford”, an air base in the west of England, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Between August 31 and September 28, Abdulkarim allegedly engaged in “conduct likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities”, the Crown Prosecution Service added. The foreign country has not been named.

Prosecutors also charged Nouman Essghir, 24, with “entering a prohibited place with a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom”.

The men are due to appear in court in London on Tuesday.

Five people were arrested on September 28 on suspicion of explosives and terrorist offenses near RAF Fairford. The base had been used as a US Air Force command outpost for operations from Europe and for US strikes on Iranian missile sites.

Announcing the charges, Frank Ferguson, chief prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division, said they followed “an investigation by counter-terrorism police into a high-profile incident involving RAF Fairford”.

“We will continue to work closely with our partners throughout this complex investigation,” he said.

After the arrests, US President Donald Trump said the US had withdrawn its long-range bombers from the UK in response to an “Iran-related” threat.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham told lawmakers earlier this month that the incident was “most likely coordinated in Iran, almost certainly led by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

Over the summer, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned that it considered any military base involved in airstrikes against Iran to be a legitimate target.

Tehran has denied any involvement in the RAF Fairford incident.