British authorities on Tuesday charged two men with violating the National Security Act in an alleged terror plot targeting the RAF Fairford military base in southern England.
The Crown Prosecution Service said Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim and Nouman Essghir are both 24 and British nationals. Both are expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
Mr. Essghir is one of the five men arrested near RAF Fairford on Sept. 27 after residents called the police to report a suspicious white van and masked men. He was charged Tuesday with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom.
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Police found no evidence of explosives in the vans on the scene, but there was an unknown quantity of an accelerant, gasoline.
Mr. Abdulkarim is charged with assisting Iran’s intelligence service. However, it’s unclear if the charges refer to Iran’s official intelligence ministry or an intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Mr. Essghir, along with four other men, was released on bail just hours after their arrest, but was taken back into custody sometime last week. Mr. Abdulkarim was also arrested over the past week, according to authorities.
The U.K. government has insisted that there is strong evidence that Iran was behind the alleged attack. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the apparent plot was “almost certainly” directed by the IRGC.
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