A month after we first reported on the suspected plot against RAF Fairford, the British airbase used by the U.S. military, prosecutors have finally charged two men in the incident that looked remarkably like a foiled terrorist attack.
Here’s what we know about those being charged.
Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim, 24, of London, has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service – which British counterterrorism officials say was Iran – while Nouman Essghir, also 24 and also from London, is charged with "entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom."
Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, and Nouman Essghir, 24, have been charged under the National Security Act following a @TerrorismPolice investigation into an incident at RAF Fairford. They will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court today. Read more: https://t.co/fGlEC74XOr https://t.co/T8Jpyx03b8
— Crown Prosecution Service (@CPSUK) October 27, 2026
The investigation into the incident began in the wee hours of September 27 after a local farmer on her way home reported seeing three suspicious vehicles apparently heading toward RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Armed officers descended on the area and arrested five men, initially on suspicion of explosives offenses and later on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.
Eight men were eventually arrested in connection with the case, but all were released on bail.
Fairford wasn't just some random military installation. The base has hosted American B-1 bombers and has played a key role in U.S. operations in Europe and the Middle East, making the possibility of Iran orchestrating an operation there particularly significant.
As RedState previously reported, the U.S. subsequently pulled its bombers out of Fairford, with President Trump making clear the move wasn't a routine one. “They didn’t fly out by accident,” he said.
British officials are now being quite transparent about what they believe was behind the suspicious activity at Fairford.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Britain's National Counter Terrorism Policing, said investigators are “confident that this activity was conducted on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.”
Taylor added that this type of proxy activity is “not a theoretical threat,” particularly when it comes to Iran.
And there could be more charges forthcoming.
“The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute two individuals with National Security Act offences,” Chief Crown Prosecutor Frank Ferguson said, adding that the “complex investigation continues.”
This is a welcome turnaround from a month ago, when U.K. officials were cautioning against speculation about Iran even as the circumstances surrounding Fairford pointed in a rather obvious direction.
Abdulkarim and Essghir are expected to appear Tuesday at Westminster Magistrates' Court.