Five London men in their twenties were arrested near RAF Fairford after a farmer spotted three suspicious vans and alerted neighbours and police. The incident triggered a major security operation, including evacuations and a bomb-squad examination, but the men were released on bail after tests found no explosives; police say they remain under investigation.

A suspect reportedly called 999 and alerted officers to the group’s activities. Police confirmed the vans contained petrol and are investigating whether the men may have knowingly or unknowingly acted for a foreign state. The article raises questions about why the operation took so long to clear and what, if anything, was in the vans, while presenting speculation that Iran may have been seeking to create panic as a theory rather than an established fact.