Netanyahu says Israel warned UK of attack as police make new RAF Fairford arrest

Five British men were arrested Sunday after an incident near Fairford. All remain on police bail and under investigation, as our earlier account of the arrests explained. Police found no explosives in three vans associated with the men but recovered a quantity of petrol. They have not established publicly what the petrol was for.

What Netanyahu says Israel shared

Netanyahu gave his account in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, linking the claimed warning to his criticism of British sanctions on products from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. “We gave the Brits the intel that there was going to be an attack and it's an Iranian-sponsored attack. And pretty much the next day, they slapped sanctions on us”, Netanyahu said, as reported by Euronews.

He said the warning came shortly before the UK announced those sanctions on Sept. 8. His public account did not include the intelligence, specify when it was shared or establish that British officials received it. The sanctions dispute is separate from the question of what happened near Fairford.

Netanyahu also did not clarify whether the warning referred specifically to Fairford. Even if intelligence about an attack was passed to Britain, that would not, without further detail, establish that it described the incident police are investigating.

What British officials have said

Burnham said there were strong indications that Iran played a part in the Fairford incident, Euronews reported. He did not publicly set out the evidence behind that assessment or describe the suspected threat.

Police have not publicly explained what they believe the five men intended to do. Their inquiry into possible foreign-state involvement remains an investigative line, not a finding that Iran directed an operation. The new suspect’s dual nationality does not establish a connection to the Iranian government.

The five men released on bail have not been charged. Thursday’s arrest is likewise an arrest on suspicion, not a finding of guilt; the other man was questioned under caution. Police have not disclosed what, if anything, connects either man to the vans.

Iran’s embassy in London denied Iranian involvement, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected Burnham’s assessment. Neither the denial nor the prime minister’s statement resolves what investigators found near the base.

Why Fairford draws attention

RAF Fairford has been used by US bombers during the Iran conflict. The UK has not participated in the US-Israeli war, but it allowed US forces to use British bases for operations the previous British prime minister described as defensive actions against Iranian missiles and launch sites.

That history makes security around the base a matter of public concern. It does not establish that Iran was behind the Fairford incident, that the base was the intended target or that the petrol was meant for an attack.

The police investigation continues. Investigators have not publicly identified the original men’s suspected plan, explained the basis for a possible foreign-state link or said whether Netanyahu’s claimed warning bears on the case.