Two men have appeared before a British court charged under the National Security act over an alleged, attempted Iranian state-backed guerrilla attack on a major American airbase in the United Kingdom.
Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, of Westminster and Nouman Essghir, also 24-years-old and living in Westminster, appeared before Westminster Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday over the alleged bid to launch an attack on RAF Fairford, the de-facto U.S. Air Force base in Gloucestershire, England, on September 22nd.
In the security incident, it is alleged a group of men drove three vans with sign-writing for a fictitious fuel company to the strategic airbase, and that the vehicles were loaded with barrels of petrol. Police swooped on the group as they were parked in a village adjacent to the outer perimeter of the airbase and made five arrests.
In Tuesday’s court hearing, new details emerged about the alleged plot for the first time as Abdulkarim, who appeared in court in an electric wheelchair, and Essghir faced charges under the 2023 National Security Act. Essghir was one of those arrested at the scene on September 22nd when the convoy of fake fuel vans was intercepted near the base, states the BBC.
The court heard this was not the first time he had visited RAF Fairford, and he was charged with “entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK” for having conducted hostile reconnaissance against the base over a month earlier on August 22nd.
Abdulkarim was first arrested days after the Fairford incident and is accused of having helped coordinate the plot from his home in Westminster on behalf of a “foreign intelligence service”, allegedly Iran’s. The prosecution stated that Abdulkarim had coordinated with an alleged Iranian handler identified as “Ali”, who had sent the man nearly £70,000 ($94k) which was meant for the purchase of box vans, cell phones, live streaming cameras, and fuel.
The court heard that during the earlier August hostile recon run, driver Essghir was in touch with the Iranian handler and livestreamed a drive around the perimeter of the airbase to him.
Having bought this equipment, the vans were made to resemble a fuel delivery company fleet and barrels in the back were filled with petrol — allegedly by wheelchair-bound Essghir — and then driven to RAF Fairford in September of this year. The prosecution told the court ‘Ali’ then told the group of five men that one of the vans had a bomb loaded in the back, apparently prompting at least one of them to have a change of heart and to call the police.
The court heard one of the men in the group sent a message to alleged Iranian handler “Ali” stating “wtf is going on” but received no response, reports Court News UK. No bomb was ever found.
Abdulkarim was released on bail after the hearing. The case continues and the next hearing will be on November 20th at the Old Bailey.
The Fairford plot case has garnered considerable public attention on both sides of the Atlantic, both for the allegedly potentially spectacular nature of the Iranian plot to launch guerrilla warfare against American bombers based in Britain, but also for the unusual progress of the investigation. Eight people have been repeatedly arrested, released, and arrested again, which has triggered comment and criticism for the British state being perceived as allowing potentially dangerous foreign agents walk free.
Speaking outside court at London police headquarters on Tuesday, the head of British Counter Terrorism Policing said releasing the suspects was part of an intelligence operation, implying at least they had been given liberty to trick them into a false sense of security, all while being watched by the security services. He added that, in his view, this ploy had worked and had helped lead to Tuesday’s charges being brought.
Counter-terror boss Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said: “We know that decisions made during our investigations can sometimes appear illogical to those on the outside… Like our adversaries, our tactics vary – and may not always be obvious.
“In this case, this decision-making has led to swifter progress, better evidence and ultimately us securing the charges. In sensitive investigations like this, it can take time to convert intelligence into evidence.”
