Rubio points to ‘foreign actor’ in RAF Fairford case as UK police keep inquiry open

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a ‘foreign actor’ was involved in the suspected incident near RAF Fairford, but UK counter-terrorism police have not identified a motive or sponsor. Five men arrested near the Gloucestershire air base have been released on police bail and remain under investigation. The gap between Rubio’s assertion and the police account matters as investigators continue examining whether anyone acted on behalf of a state.

Rubio told Fox News on Monday night that what happened, or almost happened, in the UK over the weekend was ‘a very serious situation’ that ‘clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor’, according to the Guardian. He did not identify an actor or provide evidence in the remarks quoted by the newspaper. Referring to Iran’s threats against American interests, Rubio said the US took them seriously, but he did not establish an Iranian role in this case.

Rubio said UK authorities had been ‘very cooperative’ and ‘on top of it’. He also said people were disturbed by the decision to release the five suspects on bail. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he would not have released them. Asked whether the case was linked to Iran, Trump replied: ‘It might be.’ Those comments did not resolve who, if anyone, directed the suspected activity.

What police have confirmed

In a statement on Monday, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said Gloucestershire Police received a report of suspicious vehicles near RAF Fairford in the early hours of Sunday. Armed officers responded and arrested five men who had been travelling in three vehicles. The arrests were initially on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and later on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act under section 5 of the Terrorism Act.

Taylor said the three vehicles had undergone extensive examination with military and forensic support. His statement did not say what, if anything, investigators found inside them. On Monday afternoon, he said the five men would be released on police bail after interviews and inquiries. They were subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others, he said, and ‘absolutely remain under investigation’.

The bail decision did not end the inquiry, Taylor stressed. Police still had significant resources at the scene on Monday, and a cordon remained while investigators worked. Taylor said officers hoped to reduce it and allow residents to return home. The Associated Press reported that residents had begun returning, but the available accounts do not establish that every affected household is back or that all restrictions have ended.

Foreign-state link remains a line of inquiry

Taylor said police were keeping an open mind about whether the wider geopolitical context had a bearing on the incident. Investigators were considering ‘every possible angle’, including whether the activity involved proxies or people working knowingly or unknowingly on behalf of a foreign state. He did not name a state as responsible. The Guardian reported that police had yet to establish a motive.

The Associated Press reported that Iran denied involvement and that investigators were also examining possible links to Russia or non-state militant groups. It said police had not concluded whether the incident was state-backed. Those possibilities remain lines of inquiry, rather than findings about the five men or the vehicles. The public police statements reviewed so far do not establish what the vehicles contained.

AP noted that the return of residents and the bail decision might suggest no viable explosives were found, but described that as an inference. Police have not publicly confirmed such a finding in the statements cited here. That distinction is important because the arrests and precautionary evacuation show how authorities responded to a possible threat, while the evidence needed to explain the suspected conduct has not been publicly set out.

Taylor acknowledged the disruption for people living near RAF Fairford and thanked them for their patience. He said rapid mobilisation was necessary while officers assessed a potential threat, and that police would seek to return communities to normal as they understood it better. For residents, the immediate questions are when remaining restrictions will be lifted and what investigators can establish about the vehicles and the men’s alleged conduct.

The inquiry now continues with the five men on bail. Taylor’s statement leaves open whether the suspected activity had any foreign-state connection; Rubio’s remarks are an assertion, not an announced UK investigative finding. Police have not publicly identified a settled motive or sponsor, and further answers depend on the continuing investigation.