UK charges two men over alleged Iran assistance

British prosecutors have charged two men under the National Security Act over an incident linked to RAF Fairford, a military airbase in southwest England. Police suspect the men were involved in activities assisting Iran.

The Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges on Tuesday. The case relates to an incident at the base, which had been used by US bombers to launch strikes against Iran.

Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, has been charged with engaging in conduct likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service. Nouman Essghir, also 24, faces a charge of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom on August 22.

Both men were due to appear in court later on Tuesday.

Laurence Taylor, assistant commissioner and head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said investigators believed Iran was the country Abdulkarim had been assisting.

The case follows the arrest of five British men outside RAF Fairford in the early hours of September 27. Police had declared a major incident at the base and arrested the men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act.

US bombers had been operating from the airbase to conduct strikes on Iran. They were withdrawn shortly after the arrests on security grounds.

The latest charges come amid heightened scrutiny of potential foreign intelligence activity and security risks involving sensitive military installations in the United Kingdom. The allegations will be considered through the legal process.