British police investigate if arrests near U.S. air base foiled an Iran-linked attack

Police were holding five men and examining suspected explosives found near a U.S.-operated air force base in England, as counterterror detectives investigated whether the arrests foiled an attempted attack linked to Iran.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7328x4885+0+0/resize/7328x4885!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7b%2F553da6064f5d93e8d213fccad9c2%2Fap26271348244108.jpg' alt='Police guard a road leading to RAF Fairford, in Fairford, England, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026.'/><p>Police were holding five men and examining suspected explosives found near a U.S.-operated air force base in England, as counterterror detectives investigated whether the arrests foiled an attempted attack linked to Iran.</p><p>(Image credit: Alastair Grant)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-145245' />