A dual UK-Iranian national arrested by counter-terrorism police over the alleged ‘plot’ at RAF Fairford has been released on bail.

The 25-year-old man – who cops initially said was 27 – was arrested in Westminster, London, on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006. 

The man was detained on Thursday while a second man, aged 26, was also questioned under caution.

Two properties in the area were subjected to searches but these have now been completed, officers said today. 

Five men aged 23 to 25, who were arrested close to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Sunday on suspicion of explosive and terrorism offences, remain on police bail. 

The group, all UK nationals from London, were arrested in the early morning on Sunday after police were alerted by a farmer to ‘three suspicious vehicles’ in the Cotswold village of Whelford at around 12.45am. The homes of the men, one in Camden and four in Westminster, were also searched. 

Specialist teams were deployed to search the three vans and police found a quantity of petrol inside, but no explosive devices. 

A 400m cordon was put in place by police and 85 homes evacuated. All affected residents were able to return home on Wednesday. 

Three white vans are investigated by a robot after the alleged plot near RAF Fairford last Sunday

Armed police maintained road blocks and security checks around RAF Fairford on Sunday in Fairford, England

In an update on Saturday, a counter-terror police statement said: ‘A man arrested on Thursday (1 October) in connection with events at RAF Fairford on Sunday (27 September) has been released on bail.

‘The 25-year-old man, a dual UK/Iranian National, was arrested in the Borough of Westminster, London, on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

‘Searches of two properties in the same area have now concluded.

‘The investigation into the circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is continuing.’

It comes after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed this week he warned UK authorities about an ‘Iranian-sponsored attack’ shortly after Britain announced a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 

Prime Minister Andy Burnham previously said there are ‘strong indications that Iran played a part’, although he declined to go into further detail. He hosted a Cobra meeting following the incident in Liverpool. 

But Iran’s London embassy has fiercely denied any involvement in Sunday’s incident. 

One of the three vans near RAF Fairford had ‘Fuel 2You’ printed on its exterior in red text – it is not thought to be associated with a real company

Netanyahu has claimed Israel handed Britain intelligence about the suspected plot. Speaking to Fox News, the Israeli PM said: ‘You talked about the thing in Britain. Do you want to hear how absurd things are there and how far the anti-Israeli propaganda has gone?

‘We gave the Brits the intel that there was going to be an attack, and it’s an Iranian-sponsored attack, and pretty much the next day they slapped sanctions on us. On us.

‘It’s wild, the caving in, the collapse before the Islamist-Marxist alliance is very dangerous for the future of the West.’

Netanyahu did not provide further details but he appeared to suggest the UK Government was given the intelligence before it unveiled its trade ban.

US President Donald Trump has also indicated American intelligence were aware of an Iranian plan regarding the airbase, which they shared with the UK.

Meanwhile a farmer claimed she believes she prevented any possible attack after raising the alarm upon seeing the vehicles on her way home from a night out. 

She told the BBC she arrived home to find the road blocked and a ‘large group of hooded and masked men’, claiming she saw as many as ten individuals.

‘I believe that my 999 call foiled whatever plans they had,’ she said.

But Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, told reporters on Tuesday that the police response that morning had been due to ‘a range of information’. 

RAF Fairford has been used as a forward operating base for US bomber jets for defensive strikes on Iran following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East earlier this year.