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Tag: United Kingdom ✕

British Police Arrest Five Men With Explosives Near RAF Fairford, the Base U.S. Bombers Have Used to Strike Iran — Trump Says "They Were Looking to Do Big Damage" and "We Had Them Under View for a Long Time," Kat Cammack Says "Clearly Iran Was Involved," and Tehran Denies It

On Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, police in southern England arrested five British men in their twenties who allegedly approached RAF Fairford carrying explosives. The Gloucestershire base is owned by the United Kingdom and operated by the U.S. Air Force, and American bombers have flown strikes on Iran from it since March. The men were arrested under the Explosives Act and then on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Speaking to reporters in Chicago that day, President Trump praised the arrests and said U.S. and British authorities had had the suspects under surveillance. Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) said on NewsNation that Iran was "clearly" involved. On Monday, Sept. 28, the five were released on bail, and counterterrorism detectives said they were pursuing "multiple lines of inquiry," including possible links to Iran, Russia or non-state militant groups. Iran's embassy in London "categorically" rejected any connection.

“I'm surprised that they released them, I wouldn't have done that. … We know everything about [the suspects]. We would not have released them. I would not have released them. [Asked whether the suspects were connected to Iran:] Might be.”

Donald Trump (R-FL) · Sep 28, 2026
Iran War
Terrorism
United Kingdom
4 statements

Sitting Next to the Taoiseach in Dublin, Trump Breaks Decades of American Neutrality on Northern Ireland — "I'd Love to See It Unified. It's Going to Happen Eventually" — as Unionists Answer That Their Future "Will Be Decided by the People of Northern Ireland, Not by Commentary in … Washington"

On Sept. 12, 2026, during a visit to Ireland built around the Irish Open at his Doonbeg golf resort, President Trump told reporters in Dublin — seated beside Taoiseach Micheál Martin — that he would "love to see" Northern Ireland and the Republic unified, calling it "a fantastic thing" that is "going to happen eventually." Later that day he called it "a very cool thing" and, at an event at the U.S. ambassador's residence, acknowledged the controversy: "I gave a nice answer, I think. We'll worry about it tomorrow." The remarks broke with Washington's long-standing neutrality on Northern Ireland's constitutional status, which under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement can change only through a referendum called at the British government's discretion. They came two weeks after new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said such a vote was "off the table"; his office responded that he would stick to the Good Friday Agreement. Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson and Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows condemned the comments, while Sinn Féin welcomed them. Martin urged a "calm perspective." In Washington, Rep. Brendan Boyle said bipartisan U.S. support for the Good Friday Agreement "is not going to change."

“It just seems to me that you have Northern Ireland and you have Ireland, and it would seem to me that one of the naturals of all time is put them together.”

Donald Trump (R-FL) · Sep 13, 2026
Foreign Policy
Ireland
United Kingdom
4 statements