Two in court over alleged Iran-linked plot at RAF Fairford
Two British nationals have appeared in court in connection to an alleged Iran-linked plot at RAF Fairford last month.
Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, from Westminster, London, has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, which police earlier said they believed to be Iran.
Nouman Essghir, also 24 and from Westminster, has been charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK on 22 August – weeks before he was arrested near the airbase in Gloucestershire alongside four other men.
The pair appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
A major incident was declared after three suspicious vans were seen near the US-operated airbase on 27 September.
Dozens of residents were evacuated and a large cordon was put up in the area around the base. No explosive materials were found in the vans by police but a quantity of petrol was seized.
The court heard vans bearing the logo “Fuel2You” were spotted close to the base.
In the early hours, the vans came across a Ministry of Defence Police cordon and re-routed to another location.
Police arrived and arrested five men. They later revealed that one had called 999 and reported what was going on.
During the hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Essghir stood in the dock wearing a grey sweatshirt and confirmed his name and address.
Abdulkarim is charged with helping with the plot.
He appeared in court in a wheelchair wearing a checked shirt, jeans and a baseball cap. He confirmed his name and address.
Both men are charged under the 2023 National Security Act.
Essghir has been remanded in custody, while Abdulkarim has been granted bail with conditions including the surrender of his passport.
The case will be next heard at the Old Bailey on 20 November.