SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
At first, British police said they'd foiled a suspected terror plot. They arrested five masked men near a military base that the U.S. uses to launch attacks on Iran. President Trump said they'd been under surveillance for a while. But then this afternoon, authorities released the suspects on bail without charge. NPR's Lauren Frayer, at our London bureau, is here to walk us through what sounds like a dramatic 36 hours or so. Hi, Lauren.
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Hi, Sacha.
PFEIFFER: This seems like quite an about-face. Walk us through the timeline.
FRAYER: This has been happening near RAF, Royal Air Force base Fairford. It's one of the bases that hosts these big U.S. B-1 bombers that take off for missions over Iran. And it's in a rural area called the Cotswolds, popular with tourists - green, bucolic hills a couple hours west of London.
The crisis started in the wee hours of Sunday morning when a farmer coming home late says she saw three vans filled with masked men. She called police. They intercepted the vehicles, arrested five men, and held them on suspicion of explosives offenses and terrorism. Now British TV has been wall-to-wall coverage with this, including aerial footage of a bomb disposal robot sort of poking at the doors of these white vans. Prime Minister Andy Burnham called an emergency national security meeting. And then, abruptly, police came out and said they'd freed the suspects on bail.
PFEIFFER: And why? Why did they free them?
FRAYER: They haven't quite said. So despite that robot footage, police have not confirmed that any explosives were actually found. It's the use of this base for Iran attacks that drew attention, that maybe these masked men were from the Middle East or connected to events there. Back in July, Iran had threatened British bases, calling them legitimate targets because they host U.S. troops. And Iran, as you know, has retaliated against U.S. and Israeli attacks by striking U.S. allies in the Gulf, for example.
But today, the Iranian embassy in London issued a statement saying it categorically rejects what it calls malicious speculation that these suspects have any links to Iran.
PFEIFFER: So that's what the Iranians said. What do the Brits say?
FRAYER: That the suspects are British citizens, all in their mid-20s, living in London. And while the men have been released, the head of U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing, Laurence Taylor, told reporters this.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
LAURENCE TAYLOR: We are considering this from every possible angle, including that this may be actively committed by proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.
FRAYER: He also said the suspects could be criminals trying to make money and could have been roped into working for hostile states, maybe without even knowing. At the U.N. General Assembly last week, and elsewhere in recent weeks, we've heard British and other European officials warn about this - you know, intimidation, threats, hostile activity by Russia, by Iran and by non-state groups.
It's worth noting that RAF Fairford has been the target of anti-war protesters, as well, and many British bases have also been vandalized. Some of those protesters have been charged with terrorism offenses in the past.
PFEIFFER: Lauren, when President Trump was asked about these arrests, he said that the suspects had been - in his words - under view for a long time, and we got them. What are British officials saying about that?
FRAYER: Nothing. Nothing about intelligence collaboration with the U.S. at all. The U.S. troops have been operating at RAF Fairford and many other British bases for decades. And that continues, even though the British government has voiced opposition to the Iran war. The British defense secretary, Wes Streeting, was asked today about whether that long-running military cooperation now makes Britain vulnerable to attack. And he said, no. He thinks the relationship actually keeps Britain safer rather than the opposite.
PFEIFFER: That is NPR's Lauren Frayer in London. Lauren, thanks for covering this.
FRAYER: You're welcome. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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