British police said Sunday that several people had been arrested on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act near a U.S. airbase in southwest England.
Gloucestershire Police said the arrests were made about two miles from RAF Fairford, a base that hosts U.S. Air Force resources. The facility has recently been involved in American operations connected to the war in Iran.
“Several properties in the Whelford area are being evacuated after a major incident was declared,” the force said in a statement. “The action follows the arrest of several men on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act.”
Police man a roadblock leading to RAF Fairford after a major incident was declared, with armed officers maintaining a cordon near Whelford in Gloucestershire. The village is close to RAF Fairford, which is used by the United States Air Force (USAF). Picture date: Sunday, September 27, 2026. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)
The Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal unit was examining several vehicles, police said.
Officials did not identify the suspects or say precisely how many people had been detained.
British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said on X that the incident was “being dealt with.”
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A B-1 bomber sits at RAF Fairford on July 25, 2026, in Fairford, England. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has labeled the Gloucestershire base a “legitimate target” after U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers operated from the facility during defensive strikes against Iranian military targets. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
The U.K. Defense Ministry said the prime minister was receiving regular updates about the Gloucestershire incident.
“We are grateful to the emergency services, who acted swiftly to detain several suspects and introduce measures to protect the local community,” the ministry said.
The ministry added that it would not comment further while the investigation remained underway.
The arrests come about a month after Iran-linked hackers were suspected of taking a small British power generator offline for several days during the summer.
That disruption in Britain followed a cyberattack several weeks earlier on more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota. The hackers gained access to technology used to remotely monitor and operate pumps and other equipment. Minnesota officials have not publicly assigned blame, but multiple news organizations, citing U.S. officials and a leaked industry threat-sharing memo, reported that Iran was considered the likely source.
U.S. military personnel unload equipment from a U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy at RAF Fairford in southwest England on March 6, 2026. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer approved Washington’s use of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in southwest England for strikes on Iranian missile sites after Iran retaliated against several Gulf countries. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
Federal agencies have also warned that actors linked to Iran have pursued access to industrial control devices used in the water, energy and government sectors. Those efforts have already led to operational interruptions and financial damage, officials said.